Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — who led a brief mutiny against the top Russian army brass — has died in a plane crash north of Moscow that killed all 10 people on board, Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed.
In a statement, the committee said that all 10 bodies that recovered at the site underwent forensic testing and were identified. Their identities “conform to the manifest,” it added.
“The head of the Wagner Group, a hero of Russia and a true patriot, died as a result of the actions of traitors to Russia,” Grey Zone had said earlier.
Russia’s civil aviation authority had also earlier this week confirmed that Prigozhin, along with some of his top lieutenants, were on the list of those on board the plane that crashed Wednesday.
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Videos from the pro-Wagner Telegram channel Grey Zone depicted a plane plummeting rapidly from a dense cloud of smoke, spiraling uncontrollably as it descended. The crash follows reports of the dismissal of a top Air Force general linked to Prigozhin.
Prigozhin was a key ally of Putin, but their relationship soured after the Wagner chief, heading the country’s most powerful mercenary group, staged a failed mutiny against military leaders in June.
Although the issue was resolved, defence experts believed that the episode remained a significant event that seemingly undermined Putin’s leadership amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
Who was Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Prigozhin was the chief of Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, and depicted himself as a mercenary fighting many of Russian military’s toughest battles in Ukraine and some other countries.
Wagner group has played a central role in Putin’s projection of the Russian influence across the world, especially in terms of hard power, according to Associated Press.
Prigozhin as also served in prison for at least 10 years during the final years of Soviet Union. It is not publicly known why he was in jail.
Putin and Prigozhin
Putin and Prigozhin were both born in St. Petersburg and their connections go way back in time.He then started owning a fancy restaurant, which reportedly drew interest from Putin.
“Putin saw how I built a business out of a kiosk, he saw that I don’t mind serving to the esteemed guests because they were my guests,” Prigozhin said in an interview published in 2011, AP reported.
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