Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been confirmed dead after a genetic analysis of bodies found in plane crash, according to Russian officials.
Russia's Investigative Committee on Sunday said that the identities of all 10 victims has been confirmed and corresponded to those on the flight's passenger list, BBC reported. "Molecular-genetic testing has been completed. According to its results, the identities of all 10 deceased have been established, and they correspond to the list published in the flight manifest," it said.
The victims include several senior figures in Wagner, including Dmitry Utkin, who allegedly co-founded the mercenary group and managed its military operations. The plane was flown by pilot Alexei Levshin and co-pilot Rustam Karimov, and there was one flight attendant, Kristina Raspopova.
On Wednesday, the the 13-seater Embraer (EMBR3.SA) Legacy 600 executive jet took off from Moscow for Putin's hometown, St. Petersburg and Prigozhin was named among the ten passengers. The plane crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region, killing everyone on board.
The plane crash is largely speculated as Kremlin's revenge, as Prigozhin had previously engineered a coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin in June. Putin had called the mutiny as a "betrayal" and a "stab in the back" while vowing vengeance. However, Kremlin has denied that it played a role in the crash.
What we know about the plane crash?
The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency reported that Prigozhin was among the people on board the plane that crashed in the western Tver region. Flight data shows the plane reached an altitude of some 28,000 feet before it suddenly stopped transmitting tracking details. As per Flightradar24, there was "no indication that there was anything wrong with the aircraft" before it witnessed a dramatic drop.
"After levelling off at 28,000 feet at 15:10 UTC, the aircraft continued in level flight at consistent speed until 15:19 UTC at which point the vertical rate decreased dramatically and the aircraft descended briefly before climbing to a maximum altitude of 30,100 feet before descending back to roughly 27,500 feet," according to Flightradar24.
"It again climbs, reaching 29,300 feet before levelling off once again. It then descends, with the final data received at 15:20:14 UTC at an altitude of 19,725 feet. The altitude graph below shows the final 32 seconds of received altitude data," it noted.
As of now, it wasn't clear what led to the crash, but multiple media reports claimed it could be possible that the jet was shot from the ground. Russia, without elaborating the details of the crash, said it has opened a criminal case and is currently investigating the fatal crash.
Putin's reaction on Prigozhin's death
Putin broke his silence on the matter and called him a 'talented businessman' on Thursday. He sent his condolences to the ten deceased passengers of the plane that crashed in Tver region, and said that investigators will look into the matter that will take some time.
Referring to the mutiny, the Russian President said, "This was a person with a complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in life, but also sought to achieve the necessary results - both for himself and at time when I asked him to, for the common cause, such as in these recent months."
Speaking on the passengers who died in the crash, Putin said that they have made a significant contribution against the "neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine" and that their role will not be forgotten.
However, days after the crash, Putin ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state, a move to bring such groups under tight control of the Kremlin. According to the decree, fighters must pledge “their loyalty to the Russian Federation... strictly follow their commanders and superiors’ orders, and conscientiously fulfill their obligations."
On speculations that it played a role in the death of Prigozhin, Kremlin termed them an "absolute lie". Several leaders, including US President Joe Biden and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had alluded to Putin's hand behind the crash that claimed the life of the Wagner chief, and Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Prigozhin's elimination shows that the Russian President does not forgive anyone "for his own bestial terror".
About the short-lived mutiny in June
Prigozhin had previously engineered a short-lived mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The plane crash has led to speculations that Kremlin was exacting revenge against the Wagner leader.
On June 23, he called for an armed uprising against the defence minister and headed from Ukraine toward Moscow with his mercenaries. His forces took control of the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, the city in southern Russia near the border with Ukraine, and continued their “march of justice,” until stopping a mere 200 kilometres from the Russian capital.
Putin branded Prigozhin a "traitor" as the revolt unfolded. But the criminal case against the mercenary chief on rebellion charges was later dropped.
Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
Prigozhin was convicted of robbery and assault in 1981, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. When he got out, he opened a restaurant business in St. Petersburg in the 1990s. Putin was the city’s deputy mayor at the time.
Prigozhin used that connection to develop a catering business and won lucrative Russian government contracts that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef.”
He later expanded into other areas, including media and an infamous internet “troll factory” that led to his indictment in the US for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
ALSO READ | What was Putin doing during the plane crash that killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin? | Read here
