MOSCOW – Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his prominent commander Dmitry Utkin were on board a jet that crashed in Russia earlier today with no survivors.
The Russian government agency in charge of civil aviation, Rosaviatsiya, had previously only said that the Prigozhin was listed as being on the passenger manifest.
But later today, the agency provided the names of all seven passengers and three crew members who it said were now known to be on board the Embraer jet when it went down near Moscow hours earlier, reported German news agency (dpa).
Still, neither Rosaviatsiya nor any other Russian official have yet to say unequivocally that Prigozhin was killed.
The Grey Zone Telegram channel, which is affiliated with Wagner, said Prigozhin died.
Rosaviatsiya said the jet heading from Moscow to St Petersburg had been flying “in accordance with a flight permit issued in due order”.
The agency said an investigation was underway into the cause of the crash.
Russia’s TASS news agency said no casualties were reported on the ground. – Bernama, August 24, 2023
