Wagner Chief Who Rebelled Against Putin Killed In A Plane Crash?

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led an unsuccessful rebellion against Russia's military leadership a few months ago, was killed in a plane crash, BBC reported.

He was believed to be on board the plane along with nine others. A Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone had earlier claimed that the jet was shot down by air defences in Tver region, north of Moscow.

According to a report from the TASS news agency, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of a group of Russian mercenaries, was identified as a passenger on a privately-owned aircraft that crashed to the north of Moscow on Wednesday. Russia's aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, stated that an inquiry has been initiated into the crash of the Embraer plane in the Tver region.

"An investigation has been launched into the Embraer plane crash that occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin," Rosaviatsia said.

Earlier, the brief mutiny led by Prigozhin, in which Wagner fighters took control of the southern city of Rostov, was defused in a deal brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin is a Russian oligarch, mercenary chief, and a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching an alleged coup. In 1981, he was convicted of robbery and assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison. After his release, he opened a restaurant business in St. Petersburg in the 1990s and during this period he got to know Vladimir Putin, then the city's deputy mayor.

Prigozhin is the founder of the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-allied mercenary force that has come to play a significant role in Putin's projection of Russian influence in trouble spots around the world. Prigozhin's Wagner group was a major force in the Ukraine war, fighting as counterparts to the Russian army in battles with Ukrainian forces.