Four days after a mysterious plane crash, Russian authorities have officially confirmed the death of the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. This was reported by the Tass Agency, citing the State Investigative Committee. After identifying all ten victims of a plane crash, it is clear that Prigozhin is one of them.
“As part of the clarification of the plane crash in the Tver region, a molecular-genetic expertise was carried out,” the investigative committee said. “According to their results, the identity of all ten dead has been established. It corresponds to the published passenger list.”
Wagner leader Dmitri Utkin among the victims
After the plane crash, news of Prigozhin’s death was based primarily on the fact that his name was on the airline’s list. The military leader of the mercenary troupe, the ex-secret service officer Dmitry Utkin, and other leading figures of Wagner were also killed.
The cause of the crash is not officially clear. However, large parts of the Russian public and Western governments assume that the private jet was deliberately brought down. Priogoshin (62) had instigated a mutiny against the Russian military and state leadership two months earlier in June. President Vladimir Putin called him a traitor at the time.
Putin: Prigozhin made serious mistakes
After the first news about Prigozhin’s death, Putin spoke of a talented man who made serious mistakes. An involvement of the Kremlin in the crash was denied.
Prigozhin was popular with many Russians because of his criticism of corruption and the inability of the military leadership in the aggressive war against Ukraine. The Wagner mercenaries fought in the Ukraine, but also in Syria and in many African countries.
