“Yevgeny Prigozhin, a mercenary leader who led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year, was declared dead on Wednesday following a plane crash north of Moscow. The crash resulted in the deaths of all 10 people on board.
According to Russia’s civil aviation agency, Prigozhin was on the plane, which was operated by an airline. The crash immediately raised suspicions as Prigozhin’s fate has been closely linked to murky activities since his involvement in the rebellion.
At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled the rebellion as “treason” and threatened consequences. However, the charges against Prigozhin were soon dropped. Wagner, the private military company founder, who had some of the best forces fighting for Russia in Ukraine, was allowed to retreat to Belarus, though he was reportedly frequently seen in Russia.
The Kremlin or the Ministry of Defense had no official comments on Prigozhin’s fate on Wednesday.
This incident comes after reports in the Russian media that a senior general associated with Prigozhin had been dismissed from his position as commander of the air force.
As per official sources quoted by Russia’s state news agency TASS, the plane was carrying three pilots and seven passengers, traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, when it crashed nearly 300 kilometers north of the capital.
Prigozhin
Russian aviation regulator, Rosaviatsiya, immediately reported that Prigozhin was on the plane and later clarified that, according to the airline, he was indeed on board.
Previously, after assuming partial control over the annexed Zaporizhia region in Ukraine, Russian-appointed officer Vladimir Rogov stated that he had spoken to Wagner commanders who confirmed that Prigozhin was onboard, along with his top aide Dmitry Utkin, whose call sign became associated with the “Wagner” company.
Leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, seen in a video for the first time after the rebellion.
Russia replaced the general leading the war effort in Moscow’s battle for eastern Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden, when asked about the news, stated he was not surprised and added that nothing happens in Russia without Putin’s knowledge.
He said, “I don’t really know what happened, but I’m not surprised.”
Canada’s Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, told reporters on Wednesday that officials in Ottawa are “assessing the situation” and will be in touch with Canada’s envoy in Russia.
Russian expert and senior associate at the Chatham House think tank in the UK, Keir Giles, told the BBC’s Power & Politics that Prigozhin had been using elaborate security precautions for a long time, including using people traveling under his name to divert attention from his actual locations.
Giles added, “Until ‘cast-iron certainty’ of Prigozhin’s demise, we shouldn’t put him in the stewpot.”
Still, Giles didn’t expect Russia to come forward with any information about the downed plane.
He expressed, “Although the event didn’t hold immense political significance, the likelihood of witnessing a truly transparent and credible investigation taking place within Russia remains extremely slim.”
Signal disappeared after takeoff.
Flight tracking data reviewed by the Associated Press indicated that a private jet registered to the Wagner Group, which Prigozhin had used previously, took off from Moscow Wednesday afternoon, only for its transponder signal to disappear moments later.
While the plane was climbing and gaining speed, the signal suddenly vanished. A smoldering debris resembling a plane was shown falling like a stone from a big cloud of smoke in an image shared by a Wagner supporter’s Telegram account, suggesting a freefall similar to when an aircraft experiences severe damage. The images reveal that one wing of the aircraft is missing.
Kremlin’s claim that mercenary leader pledged loyalty to the Russian government after the rebellion.
Russian investigators have initiated a probe into the breach of aviation safety regulations, a process that typically starts when they investigate such incidents. According to Interfax, emergency officials recovered all 10 bodies at the crash site and search operations have concluded.
Prigozhin’s forces had fought Russia’s bloodiest battle in Ukraine over the past 18 months.
Following the capture of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region at the end of May, his troops had retreated after initial advances. Bakhmut was a major focus of violence throughout the war, with Russian forces fighting for control over it for months.
After the rebellion, Russian officials had stated that his fighters would return to Ukraine as regular army personnel.
This week, Prigozhin released his first recruitment video after the rebellion, claiming that Wagner was overseeing training and reconnaissance activities, and that “Russia is making itself greater on all continents and making Africa even more independent.”
This week, Russian media also reported that a top Russian general associated with Prigozhin – General Sergei Surovikin – had been removed from his position as commander of the Russian Air Force.
Surovikin, who once led Russia’s operations in Ukraine, has not been publicly seen since the rebellion, when he recorded a video address urging Prigozhin’s forces to retreat.
As news of the crash unfolded, Putin spoke at an event commemorating the Battle of Kursk, praising the heroes of Russia’s ‘special military campaign’ in Ukraine.
Analysis discredited.
Russian state media has been working overtime to boost Putin’s popularity amid the fallout from the failed rebellion.
Examination: Why does Putin refrain from public demonstrations in his defense? Meanwhile, certain individuals have organized protests advocating for Wagner mercenaries.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Moscow Center, mentioned via Telegram that “regardless of the crash’s origin, the general perception will lean towards Kremlin’s retaliation and reprisal.” and “The Kremlin isn’t inclined to take such actions,” she appended, further stating, “Be prepared to counter arguments that seek to defend Putin from such standpoints.”
Stanovaya wrote, “From Putin’s point of view, and from the security forces and military’s point of view, the death of Prigozhin should be a lesson to any potential followers. According to her, after the rebellion, Prigozhin “ceased to be a participant in the game of officials, and he won’t get that status back in any situation.” Stanovaya added, “He was not forgiven either.”
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