🔴 Live: Russian investigators recover flight recorders, 10 bodies from Wagner crash

Russian servicemen inspect a part of a private jet thought to have crashed with Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin inside near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia’s Tver region on Thursday, August 24, 2023. © Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP

Russian investigators said Friday they had recovered flight recorders and 10 bodies from the scene of the plane crash presumed to have killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin two days ago. Earlier Friday, a Kremlin spokesperson said "speculation" the crash had been ordered by the government was an “absolute lie”.  Follow our live blog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2). 

8:33pm: Russia to resume offensive in east Ukraine after regrouping, says Ukraine Colonel

Russia is regrouping in the Moscow-controlled eastern part of Ukraine in order to resume an offensive, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian military’s ground forces, said on Friday.

“After a month of fierce fighting and significant losses in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, the enemy is regrouping its forces and means, simultaneously throwing newly formed brigades and divisions from the territory of the Russian Federation,” Syrskyi said in his Telegram channel.

Syrskyi said that the main goal of these measures was to “increase the level of combat potential and resume active offensive operations”.

“Under such conditions, we must promptly take all measures to strengthen our defences on the threatened lines and advance where possible,” the general said.

Kupiansk, a town with a pre-war population of around 27,000, was seized by Russia in the early days of the February 2022 invasion before Ukrainian troops recaptured it in a lightning offensive last September that embarrassed Moscow.

7:47pm: 'No alternative' to original Ukraine-Russia grain deal, says Turkey FM

Turkey sees "no alternative" to the original grain agreement Ukraine struck with Russia, Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Friday, dismissing an alternate route reportedly being considered by the United States.

"We know alternative routes are being sought (for grain shipments), but we see no alternative to the original initiative because they carry risks," Fidan told reporters during a visit to Kyiv.

6:46pm: Russian investigators recover flight recorders, 10 bodies from Wagner crash

Russian investigators said Friday they had recovered flight recorders and ten bodies from the scene of a plane crash thought to have killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin two days ago.

An investigation is under way into what caused Wednesday's crash, which came exactly two months after Wagner's short-lived rebellion against Moscow's military leadership.

"In the course of initial investigative work, the bodies of 10 victims were found at the site of the plane crash," Russia's Investigative Committee said on social media.

"Molecular genetic analyses are being carried out to establish their identities," it said, adding that "flight recorders" were also recovered from the scene.

5:55pm: Wagner group is 'broken' says Ukrainian defence minister

Russia’s paramilitary group Wagner is a spent force said Ukraine’s defence minister Friday.

“There is actually no longer a Wagner group left as they were a year ago, as a serious fighting force,” Oleksii Reznikov told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. “They are broken.”

The minister also believes that Prigozhin’s presumed demise had weakened Russian President Vladimir Putin because “it has shown the world if Putin does a deal with someone and breaks the deal, then that means that he cannot be trusted.”

4:27pm: Unravelling the Wagner Group: it is an 'empire, not just a group'

Integrating the Wagner Group into the Russian state could be complicated, says FRANCE 24's Doug Herbert. It is an "empire, not just a group", he says. 

Herbert discusses the many branches of Wagner and the conditions in Russia that allow "shadowy, murky and auxiliary" organisations to grow.

3:24pm: Belarus President Lukashenko says he 'can't imagine' Putin behind Prigozhin's death

Belarus's strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely not behind the death of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is believed to have died in a plane crash Wednesday.

“He is a calculating, very calm and even slow person, making decisions on other, less complicated issues. So I can’t imagine that Putin did it, that Putin is to blame. It’s too rough, unprofessional work, if anything,” Lukashenko said in comments carried by state-run news agency Belta.

2:56pm: Zelensky and Turkish foreign minister discuss Black Sea grain corridor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Kyiv on Friday and discussed the Black Sea grain export deal that Russia quit last month.

“Many important issues were discussed. (Ukraine’s) Peace Formula. Preparations for the Global Peace Summit. Risks posed by the Russian blockade of the Black Sea grain corridor,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations had allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain. Ankara has been trying to persuade Moscow to return to the agreement.

2:31pm: Putin to force paramilitary fighters to swear oath to Russian flag

Members of Russian paramilitary groups will have to swear an oath to the Russian flag, according to a presidential decree signed Friday, two days after the presumed death of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The measure, aimed at "forming the spiritual and moral foundations for the defence of the Russian Federation", applies to members of volunteer formations – a term usually describing mercenary groups – according to the decree published on the presidential website.

1:44pm: Kremlin says ‘absolute lie' Prigozhin killed on its orders

The Kremlin rejected Friday rumours it had ordered the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, presumed to have died in a plane crash two months after leading a mutiny in Russia.

Speculation the Kremlin may have been involved has swirled since Wednesday, when a private jet reportedly carrying Prigozhin crashed between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

The rumours have been voiced by Western countries, Kremlin critics and even suggested by some pro-Kremlin figures.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the incident as "tragic" to reporters on Friday and acknowledged public discourse around foul play and possible involvement of the authorities.

“Of course, in the West, this speculation is being presented from a certain angle. All of this is an absolute lie," Peskov said, urging patience and adding that ongoing probes would reveal facts around the fatal crash.

Russian officials have opened an investigation into air traffic violations but have so far not disclosed details of the probe or the incident.

12:55pm: Russia's censorship bodies' spending up over 60% since Ukraine invasion, says monitoring firm

Russia's online censorship agencies have increased spending by more than 60% since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, data from a monitoring firm showed, with regions bordering Ukraine accounting for the largest jumps in spending.

The research, published this week by monitoring firm Top10VPN, analysed almost 4,000 documents, including those found on state procurement website zakupki.gov.ru, and details the more than $57 million in spending by state communications regulator Roskomnadzor and its subsidiaries since the war began.

Roskomnadzor has blocked access to thousands of online resources since last year, particularly Russian-language independent news, depriving Russians of information in their native language about the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a "special military operation".

Roskomnadzor's spending increased in Russia's southern federal district and north Caucasus federal district, both of which border Ukraine, by 865% and 338% respectively, the research found.

12:52pm: Russia weighing US request for consular visit to jailed reporter Gershkovich, state media reports

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow is considering a US request to make a consular visit to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich but has not yet made a decision, state news agency RIA reported on Friday.

US national Gershkovich was detained on March 29 on charges of espionage, which both he and the Wall Street Journal deny.

11:48am: Russia warns of 'severe' sentences for arson of state buildings

Moscow's FSB security services accused Kyiv Friday of manipulating Russians to set fire to government buildings, warning that such "terrorist" acts had seen jail terms of up to 19 years being handed out.

Since Russia sent troops to Ukraine last year, there have been frequent reports of attacks on army enlistment offices and railway sabotage.

The FSB warned Kyiv was trying to "recruit" Russians online, offering "quick money" and "persuading (them) to commit arson of administrative buildings."

The powerful structure said sentences of "up to 19 years" had been handed out across Russia – from the Moscow region to the Russian Far East – and courts are examining 22 more cases.

“All criminals will receive well-deserved and strict punishment," it said, adding that Kyiv was targeting "young people, the elderly, radicals, marginalised people, as well as minors and persons with psychological illnesses" who were "not aware of the severity of the committed acts".

While there have been some instances of scammed pensioners in Russia, many Russians behind the arson attacks have said they acted to condemn the offensive in Ukraine and the Kremlin's mobilisation.

Thousands of Russians have been detained for protesting the military operation in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.

11:35am: Ukraine's emergency service chief dismissed, says interior minister

Serhiy Kruk, the head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, has been dismissed, Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Friday.

Ihor Klymenko gave no reasons for Kruk's dismissal, but said it followed an internal check of the service and that Kruk's deputy would serve as its acting head.

11:17am: Biden comments on Prigozhin unacceptable, says Russia

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday that US President Joe Biden's comments on the reports that Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had died in a plane crash were unacceptable, the TASS news agency reported.

Biden on Wednesday said he was not surprised by the reports, adding that not much happens in the country that President Vladimir Putin is not behind.

"Still, it is not for the US president, in my opinion, to talk about such tragic events of this kind," Ryabkov was quoted by the state news agency as saying.

9:26am: Dutch brewer Heineken announces complete withdrawal from Russia

Dutch brewer Heineken on Friday announced it was pulling out of Russia after selling its operations to the Arnest Group, the largest Russian manufacturer of cosmetics, household goods and metal packaging.

"The transaction has received all the required approvals and concludes the process Heineken initiated in March 2022 to exit Russia, incurring an expected total cumulative loss of 300 million euros ($320 million)," the company said in a statement.

8:24am: 'Highly likely' Wagner boss Prigozhin dead but no proof yet, says UK government

There is not yet definitive proof Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was onboard a plane that crashed with no survivors earlier this week but it is "highly likely" he is dead, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

"The demise of Prigozhin would almost certainly have a deeply destabilising effect on the Wagner Group," the ministry said in a defence intelligence update posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

6:33am: Russia says thwarts massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea

Russia downed a barrage of 42 Ukrainian drones near Crimea, Moscow's defence ministry said Friday, in the largest recent air attack on the peninsula and a day after Kyiv claimed a special forces raid on the territory.

Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been targeted by Kyiv throughout Moscow's Ukraine offensive but has come under more intense, increased attacks in recent weeks.

Nine drones were "destroyed ... over the territory of the Republic of Crimea," the defence ministry wrote on Telegram early Friday. Thirty-three others "were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed without reaching the target", it said, without specifying whether there had been any damage or casualties.

Earlier, a local Russian-installed official said several drones had been destroyed over the sea off Crimea's Cape Khersones. The cape is located in the southwest of the peninsula near Sevastopol, which is home to Russia's Black Sea fleet. Emergency services reported no damage to civilian infrastructure from those drones, Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.

It was not clear whether they were included in the 42 reported by the defence ministry.

"All forces and services are in a state of combat readiness," Razvozhayev said.

Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take Crimea back. In recent weeks, it has targeted Russian infrastructure on the peninsula with barrages of up to 28 aerial drones.

4:00am: Russia says it thwarted missile strike southwest of Moscow

Russian air defences thwarted a Ukrainian missile attack in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, authorities said Friday, with no reports of damage or casualties.

A missile sent by Kyiv “was detected and destroyed by air defence systems over the territory of Kaluga region", Moscow’s defence ministry said in a statement.

Kaluga borders the Moscow region, which has recently been targeted almost daily by drone attacks according to Russian authorities.

1:00am: Biden and Zelensky discuss F-16 training of Ukrainian fighter pilots 

US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the start of training for Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, the White House said.

Biden and Zelensky also discussed expedited approval for other nations to transfer their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the White House said.

Key developments from Thursday, August 24:

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as a talented businessman on Thursday and said he wished to express sincere condolences to the families of those who died in the plane crash a day earlier. 

Putin's words came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked his country's independence day with an address congratulating Ukrainians and praising the military personnel pushing back against Russian forces. 

The Pentagon announced that the United States would begin flight training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft in October, with language training taking place from September. 

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

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)