State media reported ten people aboard the private plane died in a crash northwest of Moscow
Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was among passengers on a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told TASS News and RIA Novosti that all 10 people on board the private plane died in the crash in Tver Oblast and that Mr. Prigozhin was on the list of passengers on board the plane. Photos of the crash showed what appeared to be the wreckage of a plane on fire in a field.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency also told state media that Mr. Prigozhin was on board the aircraft. Reports claimed that the crash occurred on a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
“An investigation has been launched into the crash of the Embraer aircraft, which occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the list of passengers, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin,” the transport agency said, according to TASS.
Officials said that an investigation has been launched into the crash.
A Telegram channel, Grey Zone, that some say is linked to Wagner, claimed that the plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems “from the Russian Defense Ministry in the Bologovsky district of the Tver region.” According to the channel, “Before the plane crash, local residents listened to two bursts of characteristic air defense, and this is confirmed by contrails in the sky in one of the videos, as well as the words of direct eyewitnesses.”
The Epoch Times could not immediately verify claims made by the Gray Zone nor Russian state media.
Revolt in June
Notably, Mr. Prigozhin had launched what some analysts said was a failed coup against President Vladimir Putin in June before Russian officials said he would leave the country and head to Belarus.
Earlier this week, Mr. Prigozhin posted his first video clip and was seen standing in a desert area in camouflage with a rifle in his hands. The clip also showed other armed individuals in the background.
It’s not clear where he was, but Mr. Prigozhin’s comments and several posts in the pro-Wagner channels suggested it was filmed in Africa.
“The temperature is +50—everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa—more free,” Mr. Prigozhin says in the video. “Justice and happiness—for the African people, we’re making life a nightmare for ISIS and Al Qaeda and other bandits.”
He then added Wagner is recruiting people and the group “will fulfil the tasks that were set.” The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.
The future of Wagner and Mr. Prigozhin has been unclear since the short mutiny against the Russian defense establishment. Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training the army there.
In comments published in late July, Mr. Prigozhin also said Wagner was ready to further increase its presence in Africa. He also recently made comments about the recent coup in Niger when the country’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
“What happened in Niger has been brewing for years,” he reportedly said in a Telegram audio recording last month. “The former colonizers are trying to keep the people of African countries in check. In order to keep them in check, the former colonizers are filling these countries with terrorists and various bandit formations. Thus creating a colossal security crisis.”
Russian leadership, including Mr. Putin, have not commented on Mr. Prigozhin’s reported death.
Moscow has used the Wagner Group since 2014 to expand Russia’s military presence in Africa and the Middle East. Earlier this summer, Mr. Prigozhin had spent weeks criticizing Russia’s performance in Ukraine and claimed there was a lack of support amid heavy fighting.
That’s when he called for a military uprising against the Kremlin in June to oust Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and lead his forces from eastern Ukraine toward Moscow.
Then, a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko between Mr. Prigozhin and the Kremlin agreed to end the rebellion in exchange for amnesty and his fighters. Wagner then reportedly handed over its weapons and equipment to the Russian military.
At the time, Mr. Putin branded Prigozhin a traitor as the revolt took place and said he would punish the group and Mr. Prigozhin harshly. Later, a criminal case against Mr. Prigozhin was dropped.
In July, a video allegedly showed the Wagner chief in Belarus. Later, he was photographed at a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg.