Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenaries, was listed as a passenger in a private plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, the TASS news agency reported, citing Rosaviatsia, the local aviation authority.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russian mercenaries who led a rebellion against the Russian army in June, was listed as a passenger in a private plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, the TASS news agency reported, citing Rosaviatsia, the authority aviation venue.
“An investigation has been opened into the crash of the Embraer plane that occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the list of passengers, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin,” Rosaviatsia said.
TASS had reported that 10 people had been killed when a private plane crashed in the Tver region. On the ship, which was heading from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, there were seven passengers and three crew members.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations is carrying out search operations” for the victims of the crashed plane, it said.
Videos circulated on Telegram, the authenticity of which could not be confirmed by AFP, in which a plane could be seen crashing into the ground or remains of the device on fire.
After becoming a leading figure in Russia because of Wagner’s involvement in the Ukrainian war, Prigozhin led a mutiny on June 24 against the Defense Ministry and the regular army General Staff.
But that rebellion was broken off that same day, following an agreement that Prigozhin was expected to go to Byelorussia and Wagner’s soldiers to join the regular Russian army.
On Monday night, Prigozhin appeared in a video released by groups close to Wagner claiming to be in Africa.
