Last Updated on: 24th August 2023, 03:58 pm
Ukraine, Uganda I On Wednesday, global news outlets simultaneously announced the presumed death of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin after a private jet carrying him and others crashed into flames in Russia.
Although it’s still not ascertained if he’s among those dead, Prigozhin has not made public statement since the incident occurred.
africanews earlier reported that The Federal Agency for Air Transport of Russia had reportedly initiated an investigation of the crash of a plane that happened in the Tver Region on Wednesday, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in the list of passengers of the crashed flight.
“A business jet crash in Russia has killed 10, and Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list,” authorities said.
A business jet en route from Moscow to St Petersburg crashed Wednesday (Aug. 23), killing all ten people on board, Russian emergency officials said.
Emergency response services have told TASS that four bodies have been found. The plane reportedly caught fire after hitting the ground and burned up. It had been in flight less than 30 minutes.
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Unconfirmed media reports said the jet belonged to Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company.
It was not immediately clear if the Wagner boss had boarded the flight.
Prigozhin’s private military force Wagner is fighting alongside Russia’s regular army in Ukraine. In late June, 2023, he mounted a short-lived armed mutiny against Russia’s military leadership.
Later after a compromise was made, the Kremlin said he would be exiled to Belarus, and his fighters would retire, follow him there, or join the Russian military.
Additional reporting by africanews