🔴 Live: Wagner chief's private plane crashes in Russia, leaving no survivors

A plane belonging to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in the Tver region northwest of Moscow on August 23, 2023. © Screenshot via @Azovsouth from X

A private plane belonging to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in Moscow's Tver region, killing all ten people on board, the Russian emergency services said Wednesday. Russia's aviation agency says Prigozhin was on board. Reports of the crash came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to end Russia’s occupation of the Crimea peninsula and all other areas that Moscow controls in his country. Read our live blog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2). 

10:46pm: Prigozhin 'a murderer' who 'won't be missed', says Belarussian opposition head

Exiled Belarusian opposition chief Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said no Belarusian would miss Wagner chief Prigozhin, who is feared dead in a plane crash.

Some Wagner fighters moved to Belarus after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.

"The criminal Prigozhin won't be missed in Belarus. He was a murderer and should be remembered as such. His death might dismantle Wagner's presence in Belarus, reducing the threat to our nation and neighbours," Tikhanovskaya said on social media.

10:21pm: Prigozhin on board crashed plane, says Russia's aviation authority

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Wagner group commander Dmitry Utkin were among 10 people on board a plane involved in a fatal crash north of Moscow on Wednesday, Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.

Rosaviatsia published the names of seven passengers, including Prigozhin and Utkin, and three crew members it said had been on board.

9:53pm: 'I would not at all be surprised if US intelligence foresaw something like this'

FRANCE 24 discusses the US's response to Prigozhin's possible death with the Guardian's Washington bureau chief David Smith. 

"The US has often been ahead of the game on this ... I would not at all be surprised if US intelligence foresaw something like this," says Smith.

9:13pm: The Russians are 'going to think that something is up'

FRANCE 24's foreign affairs commentator Doug Herbert discussed the Russian population's possible reaction to rumours of Prigozhin's death.

"A lot of Russians have become numb to their toxic propaganda from their state news outlets ... they're going to think that something is up," Herbert says. 

8:56pm: Plane crash 'a signal from Putin to Russia's elites', says Zelensky aide

A senior aide to the Ukrainian presidency said that the crash of a plane on which Wagner chief Prigozhin was registered to fly was a signal from the Kremlin.

"The demonstrative elimination of Prigozhin and the Wagner command two months after the coup attempt is a signal from Putin to Russia's elites ahead of the 2024 elections. 'Beware! Disloyalty equals death", Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on social media.

8:41pm: 'No one should be surprised' if Prigozhin is dead, says White House official

The possible death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash would not be a surprise given his falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior White House official said Wednesday.

"We have seen the reports" of the crash, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

"If confirmed, no one should be surprised," she said.

8:24pm: BBC releases footage of Prigozhin's private jet crash site

Video showing Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane falling from the sky and the aftermath of the burning wreckage in a field, was posted by BBC Russia on X, formerly known as Twitter.

8:01pm: Eight bodies found after private jet crash in Russia, says Russian news agency

Eight bodies were found at the crash site of a private jet on which Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Wednesday, citing the emergency services.  According to the agency, search and rescue operations at the crash site are continuing.

There was no confirmation that Prigozhin was on board the plane that crashed north of Moscow, although Russia’s aviation agency said he was on the passenger list.

Ten people were reported to be on board the plane by Russia's emergencies ministry.

7:00pm: Ten dead as Prigozhin's private plane crashes in Russia

 A private plane belonging to Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in Moscow's Tver region, killing all ten people on board, the Russian emergency services said Wednesday. Prigozhin was on the passenger list but it remains unclear if he was on board. 

"A private Embraer Legacy aircraft travelling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region. There were 10 people on board, including 3 crew members. According to preliminary information, all those on board died," the emergencies ministry said on Telegram. 

6:30pm: Ukraine forces raise national flag in Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region

Ukrainian forces have raised the national flag in the settlement of Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Kyiv's military said on Wednesday, though it was not clear whether the entire community had been liberated from Russian forces.

"A historic day! Soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade set up the flag of Ukraine in the village of Robotyne, in one of the hottest destinations – Melitopol," the brigade said in a post on its Telegram channel.

Kyiv seeks to recapture the strategic southern city of Melitopol as part of its counter-offensive against Russia's full-scale 2022 invasion.

3:15pm: Norwegian plane intercepted by Russian fighter jet, says Russian defence ministry

A Russian fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian military plane over the Barents Sea on Wednesday, the Russian defence ministry said.

It said the Norwegian aircraft, a US-made P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane, was nearing the Russian border but turned back after being approached by the Russian MiG-29 fighter.

Russia reported a similar incident over the Barents Sea, off its Arctic coast, on August 14.

2:34pm: Toll in Russian strike on Ukrainian school rises to four

The death toll in a Russian strike on a school in the Ukrainian village of Romny, in the north-eastern region of Sumy, has risen to four, authorities said Wednesday. 

"The number of victims of the Russian attack on the school in Romny has increased to four people," Ukraine's interior minister Igor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Rescuers found the bodies of the "school director, deputy director, secretary and librarian" under the rubble, he added.

2:31pm: Zelensky vows to end Russian occupation of Crimea

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Wednesday to end Russia’s occupation of the Crimea peninsula and all other areas that Moscow controls in his country.

“Crimea will be de-occupied like all other parts of Ukraine that are unfortunately still under the occupier,” he told an international conference about Crimea.

Crimea was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move not recognised by most countries, and Russia seized other parts of Ukraine in the full-scale invasion it launched in February 2022.

1:06pm: Ukraine says Russia destroyed 270,000 tonnes of grain in one month

Ukraine said Wednesday that Russian strikes on its sea and river ports had destroyed 270,000 tonnes of grain in the space of one month.

"In total, 270,000 tonnes of grain have been destroyed in a month of attacks on ports," Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media.

12:50pm: Russia and Iran discussed military cooperation, says Russian defence ministry

Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday said that the country's deputy defence minister had discussed military cooperation with the commander of Iran's ground forces, Interfax reported.

State media reported the arrival of an Iranian military delegation in Moscow on Monday.

Russia and Iran, both under Western economic sanctions, have forged closer relations in military and other areas since Russia launched its war in Ukraine 18 months ago.

The West has accused Iran of selling large numbers of drones for use against Ukraine, something Tehran denies.

11:44am: At least two killed in Russian attack on Ukrainian school, says interior minister

At least two educational workers were killed and three other people were wounded in a Russian attack on a school in the city of Romny in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

He said two other school workers were still under the rubble in Romny, which is part of the Sumy region. Photos shared by Klymenko on the Telegram messaging app showed emergency workers carrying away a body on a stretcher.

The regional military administration said a drone fired by Russia had hit the school at 10:05am (0705 GMT).

"The school building was destroyed, and this is just before the school year, which unfortunately will never start for some," Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram.

FRANCE 24 could not immediately verify the report. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

11:28am: Ukraine war sees 'intensification in the use of drones' on both sides  

Reporting from Kyiv, FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze says that while Russia's overnight attack on Odesa's infrastructure is "not the first time that Russia is targeting Ukrainian ports", this renewed effort means that Russia is "spoiling the grain that was destined for exports".

This is a very dire situation, says Chaze, not only for Ukrainians themselves "but also for their trade, [which is] already hugely impacted by the Russian blockade in the Black Sea".

Russia's Moscow region has been targeted by drones, for which Ukraine has not claimed official responsibility, for six nights in a row, meaning "that there is an intensification in the use of drones as a means of warfare", says Chaze. 

© France 24

10:29am: Russian general not seen since Wagner rebellion 'relieved of post', state media report

General Sergei Surovikin, the head of Russia's aerospace force, has been sacked, state media said Wednesday, after he disappeared from public view following a failed rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group in June.

Nicknamed "General Armageddon" for his ruthless methods, Surovikin had close ties with Wagner and was rumoured to have been removed after the mercenary group rebelled against Russia's military leadership.

"Ex-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin has been relieved of his post," Russia's state-run RIA news agency quoted a source as saying. 

It said that Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov, chief of staff of the aerospace force, would temporarily replace Surovikin in his former role. 

Surovikin – a veteran of Moscow's wars starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan – was a leading commander in Moscow's war in Ukraine and had long been seen as Wagner's ally in the defence ministry.

8:49am: Russia says three civilians killed in Ukrainian drone attack in border region

A Ukrainian drone strike Wednesday killed three people in the Russian border region of Belgorod, its governor said.

"Three civilians have been killed," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a social media post. "The Ukrainian forces launched an explosive device through a drone when people were on the street."

7:15am: Russian drone attack hits grain infrastructure in Odesa region, says governor

A Russian drone attack hit Ukraine's southern Odesa region on Wednesday, the local governor said, the latest strike on facilities used to export grain since the collapse of a deal allowing safe shipments through the Black Sea.

"There are hits on production and transshipment complexes ... Granaries were among the damaged objects," Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram, adding there were no civilian casualties. 

7:13am: Moscow airports operating normally after drone-related suspension

Moscow's airports are operating normally after a temporary flight suspension was imposed in the early hours of Wednesday due to an attempted drone attack on the Russian capital, Russia's state aviation authority said.

4:16am: Russia downs three Ukrainian drones that targeted Moscow region, says defence ministry

A Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow damaged a building in a central business district, authorities said on Wednesday, in the sixth straight night of aerial attacks on Russia's capital region.

Air defences downed one Ukrainian drone in the Mozhaisky district and one in the Khimki district of the Moscow region, Russia's defence ministry said in a statement.

A third drone crashed into a building in the Moscow City business district around 5 kilometres from the Kremlin after being "suppressed" by air defences, it said.

Footage posted to Telegram by Russian daily newspaper Izvestia showed a fire truck and other emergency services vehicles lined up along a street below a cluster of brightly lit skyscrapers.

Emergency services were inspecting the area in the business district, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

"Several windows were smashed in two adjacent five-storey buildings," he said.

Sobyanin and the defence ministry said there were no reports of casualties.

3:26am: US says it does not support attacks inside Russia

The United States does not encourage or enable attacks inside Russia, a State Department spokesperson said after Russian authorities said they downed drones that tried to attack Moscow early on Wednesday.

It is up to Ukraine to decide how it chooses to defend itself from the Russian invasion that began in February last year, the State Department spokesperson said, adding Russia could end the war anytime by withdrawing from Ukraine.

2:31am: Reports of explosion, smoke in Moscow's business district

An explosion was heard in Moscow's business district early on Wednesday, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

The agency also said that smoke was seen in the area. One of the buildings in the central district, 5 kilometres from the Kremlin, was hit by a Ukrainian drone early on Saturday.

2:10am: Moscow airports suspend flights, TASS reports

Moscow airports suspended flights early on Wednesday, Russia's TASS news agency reported citing unnamed officials.

Major airports around the Russian capital repeatedly closed for departing and arriving flights in recent days due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

1:56am: Netherlands to give Ukraine some 1,000 chargers for remote demining

The Netherlands will send Ukraine "about a 1,000" chargers for remote demining, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on a visit to Kyiv.

The announcement coincides with heavily mined Russian defence lines slowing down a Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by Russia since its forces invaded in February 2022.

"There is a decision to provide about 1,000 portable chargers for remote demining that can make passageways in engineered barriers," Ollongren was quoted as saying on the Ukrainian defence ministry website during a meeting with Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Tuesday.

"As I know, you are facing the problem of extremely dense mining of territories," she said.

11:33pm, August 22: Medvedev says Russia could annex Georgia's breakaway regions

Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now a deputy chair of the Russian security council, said Russia may annex Georgia's breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," he wrote in an article published early on Wednesday by the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty. "It could quite possibly be implemented if there are good reasons for that," Medvedev said.

9:23pm: Russian strike kills three in eastern Ukraine, say regional officials

Russian artillery hit two villages near the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman, killing three people and wounding two others late on Tuesday, authorities said.

"Three people were killed and one wounded in Torske, another civilian was wounded in Zakitne," the head of Ukraine's Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, posted on Telegram.

The Donetsk prosecutor's office said on Facebook that artillery strikes first hit Torske at around 6:50pm (1550 GMT), and then Zakitne a half-hour later.

The people killed in Torske were two women and a man, aged 63 to 88, who were seated on a bench when shells hit, it said.

Key developments from Tuesday, August 22:

The leaders of 11 countries in the Balkan region and eastern Europe signed a joint declaration in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine during a summit in Athens on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he had had “open, honest and fruitful” talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Russian air defences downed two attack drones near Moscow, the city’s mayor said on Tuesday, in the fifth consecutive night of strikes on the capital region.

The leader of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared in a video published Monday, suggesting he was in Africa. Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally whose group rebelled against Russia’s military leadership in June, has made few public appearances since the rebellion.

Read yesterday's liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)