LAST UPDATE | 23 Aug 2023

WAGNER CHIEF YEVGENY Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed today, killing all 10 people on board killed, Russian agencies have reported. 

It was not immediately clear if Prigozhin was on the plane.

However, Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia has claimed Prigozhin was on board the plane. 

“According to the airline, the following passengers were on board the Embraer – 135 (EBM-135BJ) aircraft:… Prigozhin, Yevgeny,” said Rosaviatsia, which also listed Dmitry Utkin, a shadowy figure who managed Wagner’s operations.

Prigozhin’s fate has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he mounted a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in late June.

Russia’s ministry for emergency situation this evening reported the crash of a private plane travelling between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

“There were 10 people on board, including 3 crew members. According to preliminary information, all those on board died,” the ministry said.

Russian news agencies later reported Prigozhin on the list of passengers of the plane.

“The plane that crashed in the Tver Region listed Yevgeny Prigozhin among its passengers, (Russia’s aviation agency) Rosaviatsia said,” TASS news agency reported, with RIA Novosti and Interfax issuing similar reports.

RIA Novosti reported, citing emergency officials, that eight bodies were found at the site of the crash.

Flight tracking data reviewed by The Associated Press showed a private jet registered to Wagner that Prigozhin had used previously took off from Moscow this evening and its transponder signal disappeared minutes later.

The signal was lost in a rural region with no nearby airfields where the jet could have landed safely.

In an image posted by a pro-Wagner social media account showing burning wreckage, a partial tail number matching a private jet belonging to the company could be seen.

The colour and placement of the number on the engine of the crashed plane matches other photos of the Wagner jet examined by The AP.

Reaction

The possible death Prigozhin in the plane crash would not be a surprise given his falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior White House official said this evening. 

“We have seen the reports” of the crash, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

“If confirmed, no one should be surprised,” she said.

US President Joe Biden also said he is “not surprised” by the reports of Prigozhin’s death.

“I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” he said, adding “there’s not much that happens in Russia that (President) Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer”.

A UK government spokesperson said it is “monitoring the situation closely”.

Putin was meanwhile giving a speech for the 80th anniversary of the Kursk battle in World War II.

He did not mention the crash and hailed “all our soldiers who are fighting bravely and resolutely” in the special military operation in Ukraine.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled leader of the opposition party in Belarus, said that Prigozhin is a “criminal” who “won’t be missed”. 

Belarus was home to some Wagner fighters after their short-lived mutiny against Putin. 

“The criminal Prigozhin won’t be missed in Belarus. He was a murderer and should be remembered as such. His death might dismantle Wagner’s presence in Belarus, reducing the threat to our nation and neighbours,” Tikhanovskaya posted on social media. 

Wagner campaign

During the offensive in Ukraine, launched on 24 February 2022, Prigozhin came out of the shadows.

He spearheaded the capture of several Ukrainian towns including Bakhmut – and harshly criticised Russia’s conventional military leadership.

Prigozhin was locked in a bitter months-long power struggle with the defence ministry that he accused of trying to “steal” Wagner’s victories.

Tensions degenerated into a short-lived rebellion on 23 and 24 June.

Thousands of mercenaries took up weapons and marched from southern Russia towards Moscow with the aim of toppling the country’s military leaders.

The mutiny ended with a deal, mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, under which Prigozhin was expected to move to neighbouring Belarus with some of his men.

Some of the fighters went to Belarus where they begun training the ex-Soviet country’s special forces.

But the fate of Prigozhin remained unclear: he seemed to enjoy a certain amount of freedom and took part in a meeting at the Kremlin where he refused to cede command of his mercenary group.

Still, he mostly remained out of the public eye.

His Telegram channel – where he usually communicated  – has been inactive since the end of June.

Wagner-linked Telegram channels instead purportedly relayed rare messages.

On Monday, video circulated showing him apparently in Africa, which he vowed to make “freer”.

The group maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic.

- © AFP 2023 with reporting from Press Association.