Newsroom – This text is being updated.
Russia and the world have been shaken by the tragic news of the death of Yevgueni Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, in a plane crash. The Russian authorities have confirmed that Prigozhin was on board the aircraft that crashed in unclear circumstances.
Yevgueni Prigozhin, known as the “head of Russian trolling” due to his alleged connection to disinformation and online influence operations, gained notoriety for his role as head of the Wagner Group, a private military company that allegedly had ties to the Russian government and took part in various operations in international conflicts.
Russia said that ten people died after an executive jet crashed near Moscow on Wednesday (23). The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is named on the passenger list. It has not yet been confirmed whether Prigozhin boarded. The information was first published by the Russian government’s Tass news agency.
At the moment, eight bodies have been found at the crash site, according to another Russian agency, RIA. So far, none of them have been identified. Search and rescue operations are still underway at the site.
The circumstances of this tragedy are generating speculation and questions about the possible political and security ramifications. Prigozhin’s death could potentially impact ongoing geopolitical dynamics and raise questions about the continuity of the Wagner Group’s operations.
The aircraft is manufactured by Embraer, and was on a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg. There were seven passengers and three employees on board.
The Tass news agency also claimed that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s name was on the passenger list – the information was attributed to the Russian civil aviation agency.
Prigozhin was the leader of the Wagner Group, an army of mercenaries that was employed in several wars, including the current invasion of Ukrainian territory by Russia. The group was disbanded after an attempted coup in Russia in June. On that occasion, the Wagner group campaigned to oust the Russian defense minister. The disagreement began after Prigozhin accused the Russian government of promoting an attack on the organization’s camps.