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☆ Russia's Wagner Group expands into Africa's Sahel with a new brand
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Natalia Kolesnikova | Afp | Getty ImagesWagner Group has been replaced by a new entity known as Russia's Africa Corps across its key strongholds in the continent, its new leader has confirmed. The new entity has been subsuming operations in Mali and Libya for several months, and negotiations to establish a Russian military base in the CAR are reportedly underway. watch now"The Africa Corps consists of mercenaries and volunteers, and does not form part of the Russian Armed Forces. It began recruiting in December 2023, and has also included job offers for former Wagner Group mercenaries; it may also recruit local residents," they explained. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov oversaw the creation of the Africa Corps, which is expected to be fully completed by this summer.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Natalia Kolesnikova, Dmitry Utkin, Anton Yelizarov, Ibrahim Traoré, Piotr Żochowski, Miłosz Bartosiewicz, Yunus, bek Yevkurov, Yevkurov Organizations: Afp, Getty, Wagner, Africa Corps, Central African, Russian National Guard, Russian Federation, Telegram, Centre, Eastern Studies, CAR, Africa, Russian Armed Forces, Wagner Group, CES Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Belarus, Russia, Cossack, Sahel, Russian, Warsaw, Algeria, Africa, Ouagadougou

Wagner communications channels were silent, but some supporters and patriotic bloggers expressed disbelief. 'LAUGHABLE' EXPLANATIONWestern diplomats say Putin ordered the killing of Prigozhin after the humiliation of the mutiny. "Two heroes of great Russia died in this plane crash, just in case someone forgot, and not druggies," said the Southern Front Telegram channel. And that is why Prigozhin himself did not just die, but became a 'downed pilot'," Pastukhov wrote on Telegram. (But) he needs society to understand the hint unambiguously: this is how everyone (who betrays us) will be dealt with."

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Vaganov, Putin, Vladimir Putin's intimation, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, CHVK, Vladimir Pastukhov, Pastukhov, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Embraer, Federal Security Service, Wagner, KGB, Southern Front Telegram, Zone, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Said, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow

[1/5] A woman mourns next to a makeshift memorial for Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, as people mark 40 days since his death to respect an Orthodox tradition, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 1, 2023. It is still unclear what caused the plane to crash two months to the day since Prigozhin's failed mutiny. The Kremlin said on Aug. 30 that investigators were considering the possibility that the plane was downed on purpose. At memorials in Moscow and other Russian cities dozens of Wagner fighters and ordinary Russians paid their respects, though there was no mass outpouring of grief. Putin was on Friday shown meeting one of the most senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group and discussing how best to use "volunteer units" in the Ukraine war.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Vaganov, Prigozhin, Prigozhin's, Violetta, Pavel, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Mikhail, Marta, Dmitry Utkin, Hope, Anton Yelizarov, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, State, Embraer, KGB, Reuters, United States, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine, Rostov, Mali

☆ Explainer: Wagner group - Is it back? Who controls it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Is Wagner back, who controls it and are its fighters returning to the Ukraine war? After the fall of Bakhmut, Wagner fighters were withdrawn from the front. While Prigozhin criticised Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Yelizarov said Shoigu was "out of control" and seeking to destroy Wagner. Russian, Ukrainian and Western sources have indicated that Wagner fighters are returning to the front. Russian war blog Rybar, which has over 1.2 million subscribers, said that Wagner fighters would return to Bakhmut.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Andrei Troshev, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Mikhail Metzel, WAGNER, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Bakhmut, Prigozhin, Putin, Anton Yelizarov, Yelizarov, Utkin, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Wagner's Troshev, Troshev, Rybar, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, deniability, United States, . Police, Reuters, Russian, Russian Ministry of Defence, PMC, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, dabble, Syria, Libya, Mali, Bakhmut, Rostov, Russian, St Petersburg, Central African Republic, redeploy

☆ Sudan: Ukraine's special services 'likely' behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces, a Ukrainian military source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Victoria Butenko Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Allegra Goodwin Andrew Carey Pallabi Munsi Mahamat Tahir Zene Barbara Arvanitidis Alex Platt Lauren Kent | Victoria Butenko | Nima Elbagir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Covert strikes by Ukraine in Sudan would mark a dramatic and provocative expansion of Kyiv’s theater of war against Moscow. Aside from a string of Ukrainian drone attacks that hit deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive has been focused on the country’s occupied east and south. A high-level Sudanese military source said he had “no knowledge of a Ukrainian operation in Sudan” and did not believe it was true. What appears to be a DJI MAVIC 3 drone can be seen in the videos filming the drone strikes. Six drone strikes targeted pickup trucks driving on Shambat bridge.

Persons: Wagner, Sudan ”, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo –, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Wim Zwijnenburg, ” Zwijnenburg, Zwijnenburg, Hemedti, Gen, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner’s, General Khalifa, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Andrey Averyanov, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba Organizations: Chad CNN, CNN, Sudanese, Kyiv, Rapid Support Forces, Ukrainian, Central African, PAX, AK, CAR, PMC Wagner, Reuters Analysts, Kremlin, Agence France, Presse Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, N'Djamena, Chad, Ukrainian, Sudan’s, Russian, Sudan, Moscow, Omdurman, Khartoum, balaclava, British, al, Zurug, Russia, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic, Libya, Ombada, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Latakia, Bangui, “, Syria, Burkina Faso, St . Petersburg, Eritrea

☆ A sneaky move at a Kremlin meeting may show why Putin took his time in eliminating Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

If so, the process of removing Prigozhin may have begun at a Kremlin meeting days after his uprising. On June 29, five days after the rebellion was called off, Putin gathered Prigozhin and his commanders in the Kremlin, according to a report in the Russian outlet Kommersant. "Reports of the meeting — and the lack of notable cases of dissension following Prigozhin's death — suggest that the meeting likely achieved its goals," Orr said. Chekalov, a senior deputy to Prigozhin, oversaw logistics, coordinating numerous Wagner activities and operations in Libya and Syria. ALEXEY DANICHEV/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesUnder Prigozhin, Wagner amassed a business empire using lucrative concessions from governments and backers in the countries where it operated.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexei Troshev, nodded affirmatively, Matthew Orr, RANE, Orr, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Anton Mardasov, Mardasov, ALEXEY DANICHEV, Prigozhin's, Pavel Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Kommersant, Reuters, French Army, Associated Press, Russia's Ministry of Defense, PMC Convoy, PMC Redut, Russian, Ministry of Defense, Getty, Belarusian Defence Ministry, Wagner PMC, SVR Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Russian, Tver, Eurasia, Prigozhin, Libya, Syria, Mali, Africa, East, Russia, Belarus, St . Petersburg, Saharan Africa, Ukraine, Osipovichi

☆ Former Wagner fighters are having to find new careers. One started a 'Wagner Taxi' company using the group's logo.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Wagner Group soldiers are being forced to seek out new employment, per Russian reports. One soldier has started a taxi company named after the notorious mercenary group. Valery Bogdanov, a resident of Bolotnoye in Russia's southern Novosibirsk region, has even printed business cards using the Wagner Group's emblem of a grinning skull against a set of wings, Russian outlet VN.ru reported. Both Prigozhin and the rumored co-founder of the Wagner Group, Dmitry Utkin, were on the passenger list of the flight that plunged catastrophically to earth on August 23, 2023. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe representative also said the group had been forced to look for more opportunities in Africa and the Middle East, Important Stories reported.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Valery Bogdanov, Wagner, Bogdanov, they're, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, catastrophically, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Central African Republic —, — Wagner, Touadera Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Wagner, Daily, Central African, Eye, Faustin, Kremlin Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Bolotnoye, Russia's, Novosibirsk, Ukraine, Donetsk, Bakhmut, Africa, Central African Republic

☆ Wagner 'skull' flag flies over empty Prigozhin plane crash site in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view shows a flag of the Wagner private mercenary group at the site of the plane crash that killed Wagner PMC top figures, including Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, in the Tver Region, Russia September 1, 2023. The plane on which Yevgeny Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. At the crash site near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia's Tver region, there was no sign of the remains of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet, footage obtained by Reuters showed on Friday. All that remained was a makeshift stone memorial of four boulders to the mercenary chief surrounded by red carnations and a Wagner flag flying on a pole made from a tree branch. The flag sports a white skull surrounded by the words "PMC Wagner Group" in both English and Russian.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Wagner PMC, REUTERS, St, Embraer, Reuters, Wagner, Thomson Locations: Tver Region, Russia, St Petersburg, Moscow, Kuzhenkino, Russia's Tver, Rostov, Vladimir Putin's Russia

☆ Newly surfaced video of Wagner boss Prigozhin shows him joking about his own death days before his fatal plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new video has surfaced of Yevgeny Prigozhin, where he claims to be in Africa in mid-August. In it, the Wagner Group leader says he's doing "fine" amid speculation over his wellbeing. The footage appears to be from just days before Prigozhin died in a plash crash near Moscow. Prigozhin's reference to a weekend in the second half of August indicates that the newly surfaced video was likely filmed around August 19 or 20, just days before he died in a plane crash. After initial reports of the plane crash surfaced, US officials said it wasn't surprising.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, he's, Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Gerashchenko, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Vladimir Putin, Moscow —, Putin, Bill Burns, Joe Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre Organizations: Group, Service, Wagner Group, Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Pentagon, Ostorozhno, CIA, House Press Locations: Africa, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Ostorozhno Novosti

☆ Prigozhin's right-hand man in Wagner buried quietly near Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The co-founder and military commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner was buried near Moscow on Thursday, after dying in an unexplained plane crash that also killed his boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Before helping to found Wagner as Prigozhin's shadowy right-hand man, Utkin was a special forces lieutenant colonel in the GRU military intelligence service. He fought for Wagner to support Moscow's military campaigns in Syria and Ukraine, and was photographed in 2016 at the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin. Utkin, Prigozhin and Wagner's head of logistics, Valery Chekalov, were among 10 people who died when Prigozhin's Embraer Legacy 600 private jet plunged from the sky north of Moscow on Aug. 23. After a deal ended the mutiny, Utkin said in a speech to Wagner fighters: "This is not the end.

Persons: Wagner, Dmitry Utkin, Stringer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Valery Chekalov, Putin, Kevin Liffey, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Russian, St, Kremlin, Reuters, Embraer, Thomson Locations: Mytishchi, Moscow, Russia, Russian, St Petersburg, Syria, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine tells critics of slow counteroffensive to 'shut up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen put out burning grass near their positions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a front line, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 31, 2023. Nearly three months since launching a much vaunted counteroffensive using hundreds of billions of dollars of Western military equipment, Ukraine has recaptured more than a dozen villages but has yet to penetrate Russia's main defences. "I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves," he said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain. DRONE ATTACKS WITHIN RUSSIAUkraine has also stepped up attacks using drones on targets deep within Russia itself and in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. While Ukraine rarely comments directly on specific attacks inside Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to boast of the Pskov attack on Thursday.

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, Dmitro Kuleba, Jens Stoltenberg, Hanna Maliar, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Peter Graff, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, NATO, Russia KYIV, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Ukrainian, Reuters, Russia, Kremlin, Nazi, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia region, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Spain, Russian, Robotyne, Western Zaporizhzhia, Novopokropivka, Kyiv, Bakhmut, RUSSIA Ukraine, Bryansk, Crimea, Pskov, St Petersburg

☆ Wagner Group may be absorbed by the Russian Defense Ministry, which Prigozhin rallied against before his death. The mercenary group's current arrangement could 'disappear rather soon,' former GRU capt
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The fate of the Wagner Group is in the hands of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. The New York Times reported the Russian Defense Ministry was considering absorbing the group. AdvertisementAdvertisement"The Wagner Group will disappear rather soon," Boris Volodarsky, a former captain in Russia's Spetsnaz GRU special forces and a fellow with the Royal Historical Society in London, told Insider. As tensions mounted between Wagner and Putin this summer, the Kremlin mandated that Wagner recruits sign contracts with the Russian army — which Prigozhin resisted. In his tirade, Prigozhin said the ministry "must be stopped" and the people responsible for the death of Wagner fighters must be punished.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Boris Volodarsky, Russia's, Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Volodarsky, —, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Wagner, Kremlin, The New York Times, Russian Defense Ministry, Service, Wagner Group, New York Times, Institute for, Royal Historical Society, Defense Ministry, Times, Central African, Associated Press, Russia's Defense Ministry, Belarusian Locations: Wall, Silicon, East, Africa, Russian, London, Tver, Moscow, Belarus, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Mali, Russia, Rostov

☆ Russia says genetic tests confirm Prigozhin died in plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Courtesy PMC Wagner via Telegram via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russian investigators said on Sunday that genetic tests had confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group, was among the 10 people killed in a plane crash last week. They included Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, his right-hand man who helped found the Wagner group. "As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular-genetic examinations have been completed," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the June 23-24 mutiny as a treacherous "stab in the back", but later met with Prigozhin in the Kremlin. He sent his condolences on Thursday to the families of those believed to have died in the crash.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Vladimir Soldatkin, Gareth Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Authorities, Russian, Thomson Locations: Africa, Tver, Moscow, Rostov, Kremlin, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Belarus

☆ Explosion likely brought down aircraft purportedly carrying Wagner boss, flight data and video analysis suggest
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh Gianluca Mezzofiore Benjamin Brown Katie Polglase | Eliza Mackintosh | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The person filming the video zooms in as the aircraft spirals downwards out of control, revealing that it is missing a wing. Credit: Ria NovostiCNN has reviewed flight data and videos, and interviewed aviation and explosive experts, to piece together what happened in the minutes leading up to the crash. The analysis suggests that the private aircraft experienced at least one “catastrophic inflight incident” before it dropped out of the sky. According to CNN’s analysis of available flight data, the plane traveled another 30 miles before it crashed. “Even though the aircraft was not transmitting position information, other data like altitude, speed, vertical rate, and autopilot settings were broadcast.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Rosaviatsia, Prigozhin, ” Flightradar24, ”, Steffan Watkins, Markus Schiller, ” Schiller, Schiller, Robert Schmucker, ” Schmucker, Kuzhenkino, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum Organizations: CNN, Ria Novosti CNN, Pentagon, Kremlin, Embraer, Wagner, Planet Labs, NATO, European Union, United Nations, Aviation, Brazilian, RIA Novosti, University of North Locations: Moscow, St . Petersburg, Credit, Belarus, Russia, Belarusian, Kuzhenkino, Tver, Europe, University of North Dakota

☆ Pro-Kyiv Russians urge Wagner Group to revenge Prigozhin's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 25 (Reuters) - A group of Russian militants who fight on the Ukrainian side called on the Wagner Group of mercenaries to switch sides and join their ranks to revenge the deaths of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and their commander Dmitry Utkin. Russian air authorities have said Prigozhin, Utkin and eight other people were on a private plane that crashed with no survivors north of Moscow on Wednesday. "To take revenge you need to switch to Ukraine's side," the commander said. RVC commander Kapustin, a far-right Russian national, founded the armed group a year ago. RVC fights on the Ukrainian side and has said it was behind several military attacks on Russian border regions.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Denis Kapustin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Kapustin, Maria Tsvetkova, Michael Perry Organizations: Wagner Group, Russian Volunteer Corps, Russian, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Rostov, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, New York

☆ Belarus leader: I urged mercenary Prigozhin to 'watch out'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman lights a candle in front of a portrait of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at a makeshift memorial in Moscow, Russia August 24. Prigozhin, Lukashenko said on Friday, had twice dismissed concerns raised by the Belarusian leader about possible threats to his life. Lukashenko said that during the mutiny he had warned Prigozhin that he would "die" if he continued to march on Moscow, to which he said Prigozhin had answered:"'To hell with it - I will die'." Lukashenko, both an old acquaintance of Prigozhin and close ally of Russia, said that Putin had nothing to do with the plane crash. Lukashenko said Wagner fighters would remain in Belarus.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Putin Lukashenko, Alexander Lukashenko, Dmitry Utkin, Putin, Prigozhin's, It's, Wager, Guy Faulconbridge, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, Kremlin, Russian, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Belarus Kremlin, MOSCOW, Belarus, Belarusian

☆ Prigozhin's plane may have been brought down by a 'device' on board: former MI6 boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former MI6 chief John Sawers suggested a bomb could have been on board Prigozhin's plane. Several theories exist as to how the plane crashed, killing all those on board. "I would have thought there was some device on board," Sawers told the BBC. AdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking about it on BBC radio's "Today," former MI6 chief John Sawers suggested a device on-board could have been the culprit. In video released by Prigozhin Press Service, Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023.

Persons: John Sawers, Sawers, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin, Anthony Brickhouse, Insider's Azmi Haroun, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Associated Press Sawers, Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Wagner Organizations: BBC, Service, Wagner, Embraer, Kremlin, Reuters, Prigozhin Press Service, Prigozhin Press, Associated Press Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Rostov, Don, Russia

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Kremlin quiet on presumed death of Wagner boss Prigozhin in a plane crash; Biden points finger at Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after a private jet carrying him and nine others crashed while travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening. Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally-turned-traitor of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is presumed dead after a private jet carrying him and nine others crashed while travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening. The Kremlin has yet to comment on the crash, which is believed to have also killed Wagner co-founder Dmitry Utkin. However, Wagner backers and Western allies were quick to draw a link to Moscow, with U.S. President Joe Biden saying he believed Putin was behind the incident. Prigozhin led his paramilitary forces in a short-lived mutiny against the Russian government on June 23 following months spent vocally criticizing the country's top brass.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Joe Biden, Putin, Prigozhin Organizations: Embraer, U.S, Putin Locations: Moscow, St, Petersburg, Tver Region, Kuzhenkino, Russian, Prigozhin, Belarus, Russia

☆ War experts suspect Prigozhin's plane crash could be the Kremlin's 'final step' in eliminating Wagner's independence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

War experts suspect Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash could be the Kremlin's "final step" in ridding Wagner's independence. Prigozhin was presumed dead Wednesday after a Wagner-affiliated plane plummeted to the ground outside Moscow. The Wagner Group founder recently staged a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military. Russian state media reported that all 10 people on board the plane — three pilots and seven passengers, including Prigozhin's right-hand man Dmitry Utkin — died in the crash. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe think tank referred to the plane crash as the "assassination of Wagner's top leadership" and said it was "likely the final step to eliminate Wagner as an independent organization."

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Wagner, Dmitry Utkin —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Bill Burns, Putin, Burns Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Prigozhin Press Service, Prigozhin Press, Associated Press, Kremlin, CIA Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia's Tver, Washington, DC, Rostov, Don, Russia, Russian, Africa, East, Aspen, States

☆ US intelligence is trying to figure out what apparently caused Prigozhin's plane to crash, and early theories range from missiles to bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US intelligence is trying to figure out what led a plane to crash in Russia, apparently killing Yevgeny Prigozhin. Theories include an explosion caused by a bomb or other sabotage. Early theories on what may have caused the plane to plummet from the sky reportedly include an explosion caused by a bomb, a surface-to-air missile, or some other kind of sabotage like tampered-with fuel. AdvertisementAdvertisementA bomb or another device placed on the jet could have caused the blast, the anonymous officials told the Times. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters Thursday there was no indication to suggest that a surface-to-air missile caused the plane crash.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, —, Wagner, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Alexey Druzhinin, Vladimir Putin's, Patrick Ryder, Ryder, Putin Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Associated Press, Anonymous, Sputnik, Getty, AP, New York Times, Times ., Times . Anonymous, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Pentagon, Defense Department Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, States, Moscow, Russia's Tver, Saint Petersburg

A woman visits a makeshift memorial near former PMC Wagner Centre, associated with the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 24, 2023. Putin, who has spoken in the past of his hatred of traitors, described it as a "stab in the back". Prigozhin "assumed that Putin would not want to risk all this", Gallyamov said. 'GAME OF THRONES'But the death of Prigozhin, if confirmed, is not without cost to Putin. If Putin was responsible for Prigozhin's death, he said, it demonstrated he was willing to engage in brutal repression of any kind of dissent.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Anastasia Barashkova, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Tatiana Stanovaya, Wagner, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Andrew Borene, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Ramani, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: PMC Wagner, Wagner Group, REUTERS, Kremlin, Putin, Central African, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Africa, Moscow, Belarus, Mali, Central African Republic, France, United States, U.S

☆ Yevgeny Prigozhin plane crash: who were the passengers on the jet?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fighter of Wagner private mercenary group lights a candle at a makeshift memorial with portraits of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Wagner group commander Dmitry Utkin outside the local office of the Wagner private mercenary group in Novosibirsk, Russia August 24, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsAug 24 (Reuters) - Funerals are expected to take place soon for Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and other members of his Wagner group who died in a plane crash last week. * Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, soared to prominence after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine where his fighters including thousands of released convicts led the Russian capture of the city of Bakhmut. * Dmitry Utkin, 53, Prigozhin's right-hand man, co-founder of Wagner and the group's top military commander, whose call-sign was "Wagner". The St. Petersburg newspaper Fontanka, which has been investigating the Wagner group for years, wrote that Chekalov was Wagner's "logistician".

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Stringer, Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Valery Chekalov, Chekalov, Sergei Propustin, Propustin, Alexander Totmin, Myrotvorets, Totmin, Yevgeny Makaryan, Nikolai Matuseyev, Filipp Lebedev, Andrew Osborn, Mark Heinrich, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Fontanka, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Novosibirsk, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Syria, St, Petersburg, Sudan

☆ 'Final nail in the coffin' for Russia's Wagner Group as leader Prigozhin presumed dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Stringer | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesRussian mercenary force Wagner Group may have suffered a "final nail in the coffin" with the presumed death of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash, analysts suggest. Yet the group also appeared to call for peace, with the Wagner Group Telegram channel on Thursday calling for its members and supporters not to "take any measures" within Russian territory. A member of private mercenary group Wagner pays tribute to Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin following their apparent deaths in a plane crash on Aug. 23, 2023. Members of the Wagner Group prepare to depart from the Southern Military District's headquarters and return to their base on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Persons: Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Jason Bush, They've, Bush, it's, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Nikolayev, Putin, disbursing Wagner, who'd, reimagining Wagner, Doxsee, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, —, Prigozhin's Organizations: Wagner Group, Southern Military, Stringer, Anadolu Agency, Getty, NBC News, Grey Zone, Central African, Russian Defense Ministry, Russian Armed Forces, Kremlin, Redut PMC, Mercenaries, Defense Ministry, Eurasia Group, CNBC, Afp, Russian Embassy, Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Transnational, Center for Strategic & International Studies, Russian Aerospace Forces, PMC Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Moscow, Tver, Hell, Russia's, Ukraine, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Syria, Belarus, Africa, Russian, London

A cameraman films a wreckage of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin near the crash site in the Tver region, Russia. Neither referenced the plane crash in which 10 people were said to have been killed. A Reuters reporter at the crash site on Thursday morning saw men carrying away black body bags on stretchers. Unnamed sources told Russian media they believed the plane had been shot down by one or more surface-to-air missiles. SECOND PLANE LINKED TO PRIGOZHINFlightradar24 online tracker showed that the plane had dropped off the radar at 6:11 p.m. (1511 GMT).

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Marina Lystseva, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Anatoly, Putin, WAGNER, Dmitry Utkin, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Bill Browder, Browder, Joe Biden, I’m, Biden, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Andrew Osborn, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Marina, Defence Ministry, Embraer, SA, Reuters, Telegram, Kremlin, Twitter, General Staff, Thomson Locations: Tver, Russia, MOSCOW, Ukraine, South Africa, Moscow, St, Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Russian, St . Petersburg, Grey, Africa, Belarus

☆ Who is Dmitry Utkin, the Nazi-obsessed Wagner commander presumed dead in the same crash as Prigozhin?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dmitry Utkin, a close associate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, is presumed dead in Wednesday's plane crash. The Wagner Group is named after Utkin's callsign, which stems from his fascination with Nazi Germany. AdvertisementAdvertisementNonetheless, Utkin's influence is woven into the Wagner Group's origin story and its exploits. AdvertisementAdvertisementWith Moran, Utkin served in a failed operation sponsored by the Syrian government to suppress Islamic State militants, the think tank wrote. The US sanctioned Utkin along with the Wagner Group in 2017, citing activities that "threaten the peace, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Persons: Dmitry Utkin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Utkin, Bellingcat, Prigozhin, Utkin's, Time, Moran, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin's Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Concord Management, Consulting, BBC, Third, Nazi, Russia's, Moran Security Group, CSIS, Islamic, Radio Free Europe, US, Guardian Locations: Nazi Germany, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian

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