Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, is thought to be dead after his private aircraft mysteriously disappeared from view.
The private jet, which was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg when it crashed on Wednesday, August 23, is said to have been carrying the mercenary boss.
The aircraft suddenly began diving toward the ground, and footage showed it spiraling there while smoke poured out of the fuselage. Images of the aftermath captured a few seconds later showed charred debris in a heap.
Watch the video below;
Wagner Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who launched an attempted coup against Putin in June, along with atleast 10 others, have been killed in a plane crash in Russia's Tver region.pic.twitter.com/JEbslRy2zB
— Africizen- Pan African (@Africizen) August 24, 2023
According to emergency officials, the plane carried three pilots and seven passengers, according to a report by the Russian state news agency Tass. The crash, which occurred more than 60 miles north of Moscow in the Tver region, was being looked into, according to the authorities.
In late June, Mr. Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a brief coup against the Russian government with the aid of Wagner, a private military force that fought alongside the Russian army’s regular forces in Ukraine.
The uprising was put down as a result of negotiations between the Kremlin and the Wagner group, and Prigozhin consented to leave for exile in neighboring Belarus.
It is known that Wagner Group receives direct payment from corrupt regimes in addition to stealing diamonds, gold, oil, and gas from the nations where they do business.
And on top of his other businesses, this had greatly increased Prigozhin’s wealth, with some estimates placing it as high as £2 billion.
The Internet Research Agency, which the United States referred to as a Russian “troll farm,” was accused by U.S. prosecutors of trying to use digital campaigns to exacerbate political and social unrest in the country. As a result, Yevgeny Prigozhin was charged in 2018.
