Update(1605ET): At this point it's looking like the entire top command of Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group was aboard the private plane that was downed northwest of Moscow hours ago. Wagner itself is confirming Yvgeny Prigozhin’s death, with Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel Grey Zone calling it a "murder".
"The murder/assassination of Prigozhin will have catastrophic consequences. The people who gave the order do not understand the mood in the army and morale at all. Let this be a lesson to all. You always have to go to the end," the Wagner channel statement reads.
The bodies of Prigozhin and his second-in-command Dmitry Utkin, have reportedly been identified,
according to statements which have been quick to come out of Russian
media. Russian news agency TASS has also made it official: "Evgeny
Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin were on board the crashed Embraer plane, the
Federal Air Transport Agency reported."
Another video of the crash of Prigozhin's plane #Russia pic.twitter.com/Yx06O8cjql
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) August 23, 2023
Russian authorities have said eight bodies have been recovered thus far. FT has summarized the following details of emerging Wagner statements:
A post by Grey Zone, a Wagner-connected social media channel, claimed Russian anti-aircraft defences had shot down the plane. It said that residents heard “two bursts of characteristic air defense fire” before the crash. “This is confirmed by inversion traces in the sky in one of the videos,” it added. Mash, a news outlet on social media app Telegram, said locals had heard two loud bangs before the crash.
The same report cited a Western official to say it was an anti-aircraft missile that struck the private jet:
A western official said they had been told the plane had been brought down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile system but could not confirm whether Prigozhin was on board, adding: "Putin doesn’t take prisoners."
Video of the crash, per Mash, a Telegram channel close to Russian security services. They say eyewitnesses heard two loud bangs shortly beforehand. https://t.co/Q9ERTVIkMV pic.twitter.com/9gBnVeZ1GM
— max seddon (@maxseddon) August 23, 2023
Alicia Kearns, Chair of the UK's Foreign Affairs Select Committee, has observed in the aftermath, "The speed at which the Russian Govt has confirmed Yevgeny Prigozhin was on a plane that crashed on a flight from Moscow to St Petersburg should tell us everything we need to know."
President Biden (who is apparently already back on vacation) has been briefed this afternoon, and told reporters from Lake Tahoe that he's "not surprised" when asked about Prigozhin's reported death. "I don’t know for fact what happened, but I am not surprised," Biden said according to Bloomberg. He then pointed the finger at the Russian President: "Not much happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind," Biden added.
Suddenly
some of the mainstream is calling Prigozhin a "dissident" - a very
strange choice of words considering his complicated role in the Ukraine
war...
This “Russian dissident” must have written a subversive novel satirizing the Kremlin or something https://t.co/jRoi82DbYA
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) August 23, 2023
Speculation continues as to precisely what brought the plane down (whether missile or a bomb detonation)...
Very intresting. More and more russian outlets are reporting that a "terrorist attack/explosion" on board Prigozhin's jet caused it to crashhttps://t.co/20B09m2HL2 pic.twitter.com/fpOh45wDX7
— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) August 23, 2023
* * *
Unconfirmed reports say anywhere from seven to ten people
were on board, all presumed dead - but it's as yet unclear if Prigozhin
himself was on board at the time. Russian media sources are now
confirming that he was on board the downed plane.
TASS says the crashed business jet was on its way from Moscow to St. Petersburg. pic.twitter.com/u3gAjOkY3B
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) August 23, 2023
This has led to immediate speculation that the private plane could have been shot down upon Putin's orders.
The Kremlin has quickly issued confirmation that the aircraft did indeed belong to the controversial Wagner leader who led a mutiny against the defense ministry June 23-24. Per official news wires out of Russia
- RUSSIA SAYS 10 PEOPLE KILLED AFTER PRIVATE JET CRASHES IN TVER REGION NORTH OF MOSCOW
- RUSSIA SAYS EVGENY PRIGOZHIN COULD BE ON BOARD OF PLANE THAT CRASHED IN TVER REGION NORTH OF MOSCOW - TASS
Russia Embraer Legacy 600 business jet with registration number RA-02795 crashed. This board belonged to the team of Yevgeny Prigozhin and was repeatedly seen in Belarus. pic.twitter.com/DPk9Q8tDaR
— Getty (@region776) August 23, 2023
Russian official sources are confirming, including RT...
KOMMERSANT: PRIGOZHIN HAS DIED IN THE PLANE CRASH IN RUSSIA'S TVER, RUSSIA'S FEDERAL AIR TRANSPORT AGENCY SAYS
Below is another video widely circulating of what is purported to be the Wagner chief's plane going down:
⚡️ Самолёт, который разбился в Тверской области, принадлежит Евгению Пригожину, утверждают издание Baza и журналистка Ксения Собчак. На борту бизнес-джета Embraer, как утверждается, были 7 человек, они погибли.
— ЭХО (@echofm_online) August 23, 2023
Видео: соцсети pic.twitter.com/EzyZ3PbVT8
State news outlet RT writes in an update:
A private jet traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed on Wednesday in Russia’s Tver Region. The Russian Emergencies Ministry said all 10 people on board had died. Rosaviation has since said that Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Private Military Company, was listed among the passengers.
But then again...
⚡️Reports that Prigozhin's second aircraft is currently maneuvering over Moscow. pic.twitter.com/AZM7NfQulM
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) August 23, 2023
developing...