Two months ago, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led his militia in a mutiny against the Russian regime. Now, Prigozhin is believed to have been involved in a fatal plane crash, Russian state media has reported.
The paramilitary leader’s death has not been officially confirmed, but Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private plane that crashed north of Moscow Wednesday, killing all 10 passengers aboard, according to media reports.
If Prigozhin is among the crash fatalities, it would be a dramatic — but not altogether surprising — development. In June, Prigozhin led his militia on a rapid march toward Moscow, a brazen challenge to Vladimir Putin’s regime. Prigozhin abruptly halted his revolt before reaching the capital, and the Kremlin later said Prigozhin had accepted a deal — apparently brokered by Belarus — to go into exile in Belarus. Few thought Prigozhin was about to enjoy a relaxing retirement in Minsk — or anywhere else, for that matter. As one Wagner watcher told Vox months before Prigozhin’s short-lived coup: “He knows that if the current regime or if his Wagner Group goes down, he goes down with them.”
An unlikely Putin rival may have just died in a plane crash, nothing to see here
When it comes to this crash, right now, the main sources of information are Russian authorities and state media — entities not exactly known for their transparency. These reports suggest that a plane, en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, went down near the city of Tver. Prigozhin was on the passenger manifest, though it’s still unconfirmed whether he was actually on the flight. Some Telegram channels, including those tied to Wagner Group, have said it’s still not clear whether that was the case.
Russian media has reported that eight bodies have been recovered from the crash and that the plane carried three pilots and seven passengers. Russia’s aviation authorities have said they are “investigating the circumstances and causes of…
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