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☆ Kremlin insiders are baffled over why Prigozhin was flying around Russia after his failed uprising: 'He's not a fool'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after his business jet crashed on Wednesday. Prigozhin, who was ousted after a failed mutiny, was en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Kremlin insiders told Meduza that they were baffled over why he was still doing business in Russia. The plane, which had seven passengers and three crew members on board, was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, TASS added. AdvertisementAdvertisementBut the mutiny failed, and Prigozhin, who had spent months publicly criticizing Moscow's military strategy in Ukraine, was apparently exiled to Belarus .

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Meduza, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ian Petchenik, Petchenik, Sir John Sawers Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Moscow, Concord Catering, Reuters, BBC Radio Locations: Moscow, St . Petersburg, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Tver, Ukraine, Belarus, Africa

☆ 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

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

☆ Prigozhin was thought to have died in a 2019 plane crash, only to reappear days later. This time, there's more evidence he's dead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after a plane crash outside of Moscow. He was incorrectly reported as having possibly died in a plane crash in 2019. The circumstances of the recent crash are unclear, but he was in a position to be punished by Putin. But this isn't the first time the warlord, who had attempted an uprising against Putin, is thought to have died in a plane crash. But some are still skeptical that Prigozhin is definitely dead, and are waiting for more evidence.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Prigozhin, Keir Giles, let's, that's, Vladimir Putin, Adrienne Watson Organizations: Service, Democratic, Novosti, Telegram, London, Chatham House, Washington Post, National, BBC Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia's Tver, Russia, Africa

☆ '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

☆ Putin's old spy agency is a prime suspect for taking out Prigozhin's plane
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's FSB appears the most likely party in the apparent death of Prigozhin. UK sources told the BBC the agency probably targeted the plane Prigozhin was apparently on. Putin once ran the FSB himself, and had a long career in its Soviet precursor, the KGB. Germany's foreign minister said the crash seemed to fit "this pattern in Putin's Russia: deaths, dubious suicides, falls from windows, all which remain unclarified – that underlines a dictatorial power system that is built on violence." AdvertisementAdvertisementWhite House National Security Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that if Prigozhin's death is confirmed "no one should be surprised."

Persons: Prigozhin, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexei Navalny, Alexander Litvinenko, it's, Adrienne Watson, Flightradar24 Organizations: FSB, BBC, KGB, Service, Wednesday, Soviet Union's KGB, Kremlin, CIA, Guardian, National, Reuters Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia's Tver, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

☆ 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

☆ Amid a slogging counteroffensive, Ukraine sees a day of good fortune: a Russian air defense system was destroyed, one Russian pilot successfully defected, and, now, the Wagner leader may be dead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wednesday brought a string of good news for Ukraine amid the 3-month-long counteroffensive. That same day, a Russian helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine, landing a Mi-8 AMTSH helicopter at the Ukrainian Poltava military air base. An official for HUR, the military intelligence agency, told local media that this was the result of a planned six-month operation. But the most significant turn of events that came Wednesday was the possible death of the Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Social media channels associated with Wagner claimed that the plane was shot down by an air-defense system.

Persons: HUR, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Angela Stenet, Vladimir Putin's, Stenet, Mykhailo Podolyak, Putin Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, Directorate of Intelligence, Wagner Group, National Intelligence, PBS, New York Times, Washington Post, Institute for Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Russian, Crimean, Ukrainian Poltava, Moscow, Tver, Eurasia, The U.S, Melitopol, Washington, DC

☆ A deadly plane crash appears to have killed Wagner's top boss, but even without Prigozhin, the group likely isn't a 'chicken with its head cut off,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Chris Panella | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have died in a plane crash on August 23. Without Prigozhin, Wagner's key operations, finances, and future are unclear, experts told Insider. It's likely not "a chicken with its head cut off," Miles said because Wagner's local operations "are still in play." His mercenaries were given the choice to join the ranks of the Russian military, leave for civilian life, or join Prigozhin in Belarus. A mural depicting mercenaries of Russia's Wagner Group that reads: "Wagner Group - Russian knights."

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, it's, Simon Miles, Miles, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Sergei Shoigu, Defense Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Lukashenko, Catrina Doxsee, Doxsee, There's, Kateryna Stepanenko, Prigozhin —, —, Russia's, Darko Vojinovic, Prigozhin's, ISW Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, Soviet Union, TASS, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Defense, Kremlin, Prigozhin, Press, REUTERS, PMC, Transnational, Center for Strategic, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Soviet, Russian, Tver, Moscow, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Concord, Latin America, Crimea, Syria, Libya, Mali

☆ Opinion: Prigozhin seemed to be living on borrowed time
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Opinion Daniel Treisman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — who the Russian aviation agency confirmed was a passenger on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday evening — seemed to be living on borrowed time. Video of the plane debris taken at the purported crash site in the western Tver region of Russia matches the plane registered to Prigozhin. Investigations were started within the armed forces, and probably within the security forces as well. Any effort to paint Prigozhin as wealthy and corrupt stopped almost immediately, and no new financial investigations were announced. And in what might have been the last straw for Putin, Prigozhin released a video on Monday of himself standing in what looked like an African desert, boasting of his men’s exploits.

Persons: Daniel Treisman, “, CNN — Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, William Burns, “ I, Alexander Zemlianichenko, –, —, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Afzalov Organizations: University of California, CNN, Belarus, CIA, Kremlin, Central African, Investigations, Washington, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, Russian, Russia, Tver, Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Moscow, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Sudan, Ukraine, Petersburg, Sahel, St . Petersburg

Putin's comments, which suggested he harboured decidedly mixed feelings about Wagner's mercenary boss, were the most definitive yet on Prigozhin's fate. It remains to be seen too how Wagner fighters, some of whom have already spoken of betrayal and foul play, react. Pledging a thorough investigation which he said would take time, Putin said that "preliminary data" indicated that Prigozhin and other Wagner employees had been on the downed plane. 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, August 24. The mutiny was ended by an apparent Kremlin deal which saw Prigozhin agree to relocate to neighbouring Belarus.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, It's, Ramzan Kadyrov, Marina Lystseva, Kadyrov, Anatoly, Prigozhin's, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Andrew Osborn, Nick Macfie, Andrew Heavens, Stephen Coates Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Department of Defense, REUTERS, Marina, Embraer, SA, Telegram, Wagner Group, Wagner, General Staff, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, U.S, Washington, Ukraine, Africa, Kremlin, Donetsk, Tver, Russia, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Grey, Belarus

☆ A video claiming to show Prigozhin's jet plummeting from the sky and the plane's fiery wreckage could be starting points for an investigation into the crash — if a fair investigation is possible, avia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Wednesday, Russian officials said Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash. Photos on social media have also surfaced showing a fiery wreckage at the crash site. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's Federal Air Transport Agency claimed on Wednesday that the bodies of the 10 deceased passengers were retrieved from the crash site, signaling a moving investigation. "In early stages, the most important thing is to get on scene and secure the wreckage, so that it can't be tampered with," Brickhouse told Insider. Brickhouse added that the crash site, engulfed in flames, could point to a plane that went down with a full gas tank.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, That's, Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Anthony Brickhouse, Brickhouse, It's, Putin, Russia's, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Service, Novosti, Street, National Transportation Safety Board, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, CNN, Air Transport Agency, Belarusian Locations: Wall, Silicon, Tver, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov, Belarus, Africa

The plane that listed Mr. Prigozhin as a passenger left Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Wednesday at about 6 p.m. local time, bound for St. Petersburg. The paint and a partial registration number, RA-02795, visible on the aircraft match a jet that Mr. Prigozhin is known to use. Was Mr. Prigozhin killed? American officials said they could not confirm Mr. Prigozhin had been killed in the plane crash, or why the jet went down. Emerging from jail as the Soviet Union was collapsing, Mr. Prigozhin began his post-criminal career selling hot dogs on street corners in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Russian Wagner, Prigozhin, Prighozin, Dmitri Utkin, Wagner, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, ”, Prighozhin, Putin’s Organizations: RIA Novosti, Embraer, Russian, Kremlin, Central African Locations: Russian, Moscow, Sheremetyevo, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver, Western, Kremlin, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Bakhmut, Syria, Libya, Mali, Central African Republic, Belarus

☆ An old video of Vladimir Putin saying 'betrayal' is absolutely unforgivable has resurfaced after Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The clip resurfaced on X, formerly Twitter, after Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crashed on Wednesday. The downing of Prigozhin's plane has fueled speculation that Putin was behind it. Russian media outlet RIA Novosti also released footage of what it claims is Prigozhin's plane spiraling out of the sky before hitting the ground. The circumstances of Prigozhin's plane crash have fueled speculation that Putin ordered his death. Wagner-affiliated social media channels have claimed unspecified air-defense systems in Russia took out Prigozhin's plane.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Ravil Maganov, Pavel Antov, Antov, Bill Burns Organizations: Service, TASS, Novosti, Russian, CIA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Tver, Moscow, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, India, Aspen

☆ Mapping the Prigozhin plane’s final flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Russian authorities say mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board a plane which crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, two months to the day after he led an abortive mutiny against the army top brass. The aircraft, which had been travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, came down near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region, Russia’s emergency situations ministry said. The United States is looking at a number of theories over what brought down the plane presumed to be carrying Prigozhin, including a surface-to-air missile hitting it, U.S. officials told Reuters. Earlier on Wednesday, another jet connected to the Wagner Group — according to Wagner-linked social media channel Grey Zone — also set off from Moscow and appeared to be following the same route. It completed its journey and returned the same day.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Organizations: Reuters, Wagner Locations: Moscow, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, United States

Firefighters work amid aircraft wreckage at an accident scene following the crash of a private jet in the Tver region, Russia, August 23, 2023. Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, was reportedly listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed north of Moscow on August 23, 2023. Within about 30 seconds, the aircraft had plummeted more than 8,000 feet from its cruising altitude of 28,000 feet. “Whatever happened, happened quickly,” Petchenik said. “They may have been wrestling (with the aircraft) after whatever happened," Petchenik said.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, ”, Ian Petchenik, ” Petchenik, “, Petchenik, Flightradar24, Valerie Insinna, Allison Lampert, Gabriel Araujo, Caroline Pulice, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Acquire, Embraer, EMBR3, ”, Reuters, planemaker Embraer SA, Russia, Thomson Locations: Tver, Russia, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Flightradar24, Russian, Belarus, Washington, Montreal, Sao Paulo, Mexico City

☆ Exclusive: US believes missile inside Russia likely shot down Prigozhin's presumed plane, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A satellite image shows the area where the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed near Kuzhenkino, in the Tver region, Russia, August 24, 2023, in this handout picture. PLANET LABS PBC/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The United States believes a surface-to-air missile originating from inside Russia likely shot down the plane presumed to be carrying mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Wednesday, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, stressed that the information was still preliminary and under review. Russian air authorities have said Prigozhin, his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and eight other people were on the private plane that crashed with no survivors north of Moscow on Wednesday. Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees AliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali Organizations: PBC, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kuzhenkino, Tver, Russia, United States, Moscow

In one extraordinary video, he shouted and cursed at Shoigu and Gerasimov, demanding ammunition so his men could keep fighting as he stood in a field littered with the corpses of Wagner fighters. Prigozhin performed a U-turn and Wagner fought on, eventually capturing the city in late May. But a turning point came weeks later when he rejected an order for Wagner fighters to sign contracts placing them under the control of the defence ministry. Two weeks later, a video appeared to show Prigozhin welcoming his fighters to Belarus. Taking advantage of his political connections, Prigozhin was awarded major state contracts, becoming known as "Putin's chef" after catering for Kremlin events.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Marina Lystseva, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, Putin, Christo Grozev, Bellingcat, Donald Trump, Stanislav Belkovsky, Mark Trevelyan, Cynthia Osterman, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Marina, Defence, Staff, Kremlin, Financial Times, St, Thomson Locations: wreckages, Tver, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, St Petersburg, Africa, St Petersburg's, U.S, Niger, Prigozhin

☆ What to Know About the Plane Crash Linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One day after the crash, here’s what to know. The plane that listed Mr. Prigozhin as a passenger left Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Wednesday at about 6 p.m. local time, bound for St. Petersburg. It crashed in a wooded area near the village of Kuzhenkino, in Tver region, less than 100 miles northwest of Moscow. The shaky video, which appears to have been shot from a cellphone, did not show the plane’s impact. The paint and a partial registration number, RA-02795, visible on the aircraft match a jet that Mr. Prigozhin is known to use.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Russian Wagner, Prigozhin Organizations: RIA Novosti, Embraer Locations: Russian, Moscow, Sheremetyevo, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver

☆ Prigozhin plane crash: Villagers hear bang, then see plane plummet to ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KUZHENKINO, Russia, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Residents of a village near the site of a plane crash which is believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said they had heard a bang, then saw the jet plummet to the ground. A Reuters reporter at the crash site early on Thursday saw men taking away black body bags on stretchers. Part of the plane's blue-and-white liveried tail and other fragments lay on the ground near a wooded area. [1/2]A wreckage of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen near the crash site in the Tver region, Russia, August 24, 2023. Some unnamed sources told Russian media they believed the plane had been shot down by one or more surface-to-air missiles.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vitaly Stepenok, Marina Lystseva, gesturing, Stepenok, Anatoly, I've, Prigozhin, Angus MacSwan, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Embraer, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Reuters, REUTERS, Marina, Thomson Locations: KUZHENKINO, Russia, Kuzhenkino, Russia's Tver, Moscow, St, Petersburg, Tver, Ukraine, Russian

☆ 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

CNN —Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner, was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow, killing all 10 on board, according to Russian state media. The bodies of eight people have been found at the crash site, state media outlet Russia 24 reported. Earlier, TASS reported the plane “burned up” on impact after being in the air for about half an hour. One of two Wagner planesVideo published by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti showed a plane falling out of the sky with one wing missing. A separate video, also released by RIA Novosti, purports to show plane engine debris at the crash site.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, “, Vladimir Putin’s, Reuters Wagner, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, Putin, ” Biden, I’m, FlightRadar24, Don –, Biden, Bill Burns, Antony Blinken, Burns, ” Burns, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Embraer, Federal Air Transport Agency, Russian Ministry of Emergency Services, TASS, Russian Investigative Committee, Wagner, Ostorozhno, Reuters, Nazi, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Wagner Group, Biden, Kremlin, CIA, NATO Locations: Moscow, Tver, Kuzhenkino, Russia, Belarus, Russia's Tver, Ostorozhno Novosti, Soledar, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kursk, Soviet, Nazi Germany, Rostov, –, St, Petersburg, United States

There was no immediate official confirmation that Prigozhin, Russia's most powerful mercenary and a self-declared enemy of the Russian Defence Ministry, was physically on board. Reuters could not confirm that he was on the aircraft though a Telegram channel linked to Wagner pronounced him dead. Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. Unconfirmed Russian media reports said that Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin's right-hand man, had also been on board and that Prigozhin and his associates had attended a meeting with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry. An unverified video clip posted to social media showed a plane resembling a private jet falling out of the sky towards the earth.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Joe Biden, Alexander Ermochenko, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Dmitry Utkin, Andrew Osborn, Max Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Embraer, TASS, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russia's, General Staff, Thomson Locations: Moscow, MOSCOW, Russia, Africa, Tver, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Rostov, Don, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Belarus

☆ White House says 'no one should be surprised' if Prigozhin actually died in a plane crash in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian media said Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed Wednesday. All 10 people on the business jet died, but it's unclear if the Wagner Group leader was actually on board. US officials said that if the reports of his death are confirmed, "no one should be surprised." If confirmed, no one should be surprised," White House National Security Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement shared with Insider. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe plane crash happened exactly two months after Prigozhin incited a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership, setting off a series of high-level purges and internal power shifts.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, it's, Adrienne Watson, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, National, US State Department Locations: Wall, Silicon, Moscow, St, Petersburg, Tver, Ukraine

☆ Wagner boss and failed coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed in Russia, killing everyone on board, state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian media reports say Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed. It's unclear if the Wagner Group leader was on the plane that went down near Moscow, but he is believed to have been killed. It's not immediately clear if the mercenary boss was on board, but he was on the passenger list. AdvertisementAdvertisementBefore it became a disgraced organization in the wake of Prigozhin's failed coup, the Wagner Group fought in Ukraine alongside the regular Russian army. Some Western officials suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin might opt to deal with the betrayal at a later date.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, It's, Prigozhin, Adrienne Watson, Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Bill Burns Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Group, TASS, Embraer, Federal Agency for Air Transport, National, US State Department, Kremlin, CIA Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Tver, St, Petersburg, Tver Region, Russia, Africa, Belarus, Ukraine, Rostov, Belarusian

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