24-8-2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a jet which crashed in Russia killing all 10 people on board, Russia’s civil aviation authority says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social media linked to the Wagner mercenary group say his private plane was shot down by Russian air defences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prigozhin died “as a result of actions of traitors to Russia”, the Grey Zone Telegram channel posted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia’s armed forces in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, some experts in Russia and abroad suggest the revolt was staged, and Prigozhin abandoned his “justice march” on Moscow after direct orders from President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wednesday’s crash in the Tver region, north-west of the capital Moscow, comes on the same day that senior Russian general Sergei Surovikin was reportedly sacked as air force chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gen Surovikin was known to have good relations with Prigozhin and had not been seen in public since the mutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prigozhin’s aircraft – an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) – was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday with seven passengers and three crew, Russia’s Rosaviatsia aviation authority said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin – who founded the group in 2014 – was also on the passenger list, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plane is reported to have come down near the village of Kuzhenkino, about half-way between Moscow and St Petersburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One report said the body of Prigozhin, 62, had been found and identified – this has not been officially confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All 10 bodies have been recovered, Russia’s state-run news agency Interfax said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grey Zone said local residents had heard two bangs before the crash and had seen two vapour trails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tass news agency said the plane had caught fire on hitting the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aircraft had been in the air for less than half-an-hour, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An investigation has been launched into the crash and emergency services are searching the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, Grey Zone reported that a second business jet owned by Prigozhin had landed safely in the Moscow region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group has been active in Ukraine, Syria and west Africa, and has gained a reputation for brutality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prigozhin headed the mutiny on 23-24 June, moving his troops from Ukraine, seizing the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and threatening to march on Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move came after months of tension with Russian military commanders over the invasion of Ukraine launched by President Putin in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stand-off seemed to have been settled by a deal which allowed Wagner troops to move to Belarus or join the Russian army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prigozhin himself agreed to relocate to Belarus – but has apparently been able to move freely, making public appearances in Russia and releasing a video of him purportedly in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But several Russia watchers have described him as a “dead man walking” since the mutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Putin’s initial reaction to his challenge to Russia’s defence establishment was vitriolic, calling it a betrayal and a stab in the back in a video message on 24 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal did not mean he was safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Revenge”, commented CIA director William Burns, “is a dish Putin prefers served cold” – or words to that effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None of this, of course, is proof that Prigozhin and his entourage were deliberately targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But given the circumstances any claims that his demise, if confirmed, was an accident will see a lot of eyebrows raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President Joe Biden said he was “not surprised” by news of Prigozhin’s possible death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ref: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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