The Russian air transport agency Rossaviatsia confirmed on Wednesday that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board the plane which crashed in the Tver region of Russia, killing all occupants. “According to the airline, the following passengers were on board the Embraer – 135 plane,” Rossaviatsia said, citing the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin but also that of his right-hand man Dmitri Utkin. According to her, the flight was taking place “under a duly issued airspace permit”. Wagner, the militia he led, has also confirmed the death of the billionaire, once very close to Vladimir Putin. She greets, on Telegram, a “hero of Russia” and “a true patriot”.
Videos whose authenticity AFP could not confirm were broadcast on several Telegram channels claiming to be linked to Wagner, showing burning debris in a field or a device falling from the sky. According to an emergency services official quoted by the Ria Novosti agency, the bodies of eight people have so far been found at the crash site. The TASS agency mentioned seven bodies recovered. An investigation has been opened for “violation of air transport security rules”. “A team of investigators was sent to the scene (…) to establish the causes of the accident,” the Russian Investigation Committee said in a statement. According to Rossaviatsia, the plane belonged to the company MNT-Aero, which specializes in business transport.
A “murderer” who “no one will miss”
Earlier in the evening, the Ria Novosti, TASS and Interfax agencies, referring to the Russian air transport agency Rossaviatsia indicated that Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the plane’s passenger list. It was then a question of determining on the businessman had indeed boarded. The council of the Ukrainian presidency was quick to react, evoking a “signal from Putin to the Russian elites” and assuring that the Russian president “does not forgive anyone”. As a reminder, the Wagner group had attempted an armed revolt against Russia at the end of June when it sided with Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine. To “avoid a bloodbath”, an agreement had been reached between the two parties and the boss of Wagner had found refuge in Belarus.
About Prigozhin: It is worth waiting for the fog of war to disappear… Meanwhile, it is obvious that Putin does not forgive anyone for his own bestial terror. Exactly the one that nullified him in June 2023. And he was waiting for the moment. It is also obvious that Prigozhin…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) August 23, 2023
Leader of the Belarusian opposition, today in exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa estimated Wednesday that the boss of Wagner Evguéni Prigojine, was a “murderer” who “will not be missed by anyone”. “The criminal Prigojine will not be missed by anyone in Belarus. He was a murderer and must be remembered as such”, she wrote on X (ex-Twitter) considering that “his death could dismantle the presence of Wagner in Belarus”, a country allied with Moscow. And while Prigojine’s death had not yet been confirmed, US President Joe Biden said he was “not surprised” by the billionaire’s possible disappearance.
The criminal Prigozhin won’t be missed in Belarus. He was a murderer & should be remembered as such. His death might dismantle Wagner’s presence in Belarus, reducing the threat to our nation & neighbors. No one should trust Lukashenka’s “security guarantees” or any of his deals.
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) August 23, 2023
He said he was in Africa on Monday
On Monday evening, the Wagner boss appeared in a video posted by groups close to Wagner on social media, where he claimed to be in Africa. In a desert landscape and armed with an assault rifle, he said he was working to “make Russia even bigger on all continents and Africa even freer”.
Wagner also has a presence in several African countries including the Central African Republic, Mali and Libya. In July, Vladimir Putin assured that he had offered Wagner’s men to serve under the command of another person in the army, but that their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had refused the offer.