Wagner chief Prigozhin killed
Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is reported to be among 10 people killed in a plane crash in Russia. Footage shows the flaming wreckage after a private jet came down near Moscow on Wednesday evening.
The plane carrying three pilots and seven passengers was on route from Moscow to St Petersburg, according to officials cited by Russia's state news agency Tass. Prigozhin was on the passenger list for the plane, the civil aviation authority said.
As the news about the crash was breaking, Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke at an event commemorating the Battle of Kursk, hailing the heroes of Russia’s “the special military operation” in Ukraine.
The Wagner chief’s fate has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he mounted a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership in late June.
The Kremlin said the founder of the Wagner private military company, which fought alongside Russia's regular army in Ukraine, would be exiled to Belarus. But the mercenary chief has since reportedly popped up in Russia, leading to further questions about his future.
