MOSCOW: Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia confirmed on Wednesday that the founder of Russia’s Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was on board the plane that crashed with all passengers believed to have died.
Russian Officials Confirm Wagner Chief on Board Crashed Plane
“According to the air company, the following travellers were on board the Embraer – 135 (EBM-135BJ) plane:… Prigozhin, Yevgeny,” said Rosaviatsia, which also listed Dmitry Utkin, a shadowy figure who oversaw the group’s operations.
Earlier, media reported that at least 10 people have been reportedly killed in a private plane crash north of Moscow, with the Russian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) stating that Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list.
“A private aircraft travelling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg crashed in the Tver Region. There were 10 people on board, including three crew members. According to initial information, all those on board died,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported on Telegram.
US President Joe Biden has said that he was “not surprised” at news reports that Wagner mercenary group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin may have died in an airplane crash in Moscow, Western media reported on Wednesday.
Read Also: President Biden Responds to Wagner Boss’s Possible Death
AFP reported that the US President said that he did not know for a fact what occurred, but he was not surprised. The US President added, ” there is not much that occurs in Moscow that Putin’s not behind. He further said, “I don’t know sufficient to know the answer.”
The accident came sixty days after Wagner Chief’s launched a rebellious march on Russia’s capital Moscow, aiming to force the exclusion of Russia’s military leadership. In a statement, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that they have seen the reports” of the plane crash. She added that no one should be surprised if the reports were confirmed.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who established his private Wagner army a fighting force in the conflict on Ukraine but also created enemies in the Russian regular army, was on the plane’s passenger list, Russian state media reported.
