Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was on ‘plane that crashed killing all 10 on board’ – but death yet to be confirmed
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board a plane that crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 passengers on board, Russia’s Civil Aviation Authority has said.
There has been no comment from the Kremlin or Russia’s defence ministry as Prigozhin’s death is yet to be officially confirmed.
The crash comes two months after the Wagner mercenary boss led a short-lived munity against Russia’s military top brass.
Prigozhin was described at the time by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “traitor”.
The mercenary boss used to be Mr Putin’s chef and was formerly a close confidant of the Russian leader.
Mr Putin has spoken publicly for the first time since the crash after delivering a speech at the BRICS summit – but he did not mention Prigozhin.
The fact the Wagner boss’s death has not been confirmed and an absence of verifiable facts has led to speculation following the crash.
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‘Plane brought down by bomb in a wine crate’
Many observers, and some of the Wagner boss’s supporters, have said the Russian state is responsible.
It is suggested Mr Putin may have wanted to down the plane in revenge for the mutiny.
One rumour circulating is that the plane was downed by a bomb in a crate of wine that was gifted to the passengers on the flight.
The claim is unverified.
Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele told Sky News: “Certainly it’s an inside job, the suggestion is that it’s a bomb in a wine crate.
“That’s a kind of ironic end for Putin’s former caterer.”
A body bag is carried away from the scene of the crash. Pic: AP
Some observers believe Moscow may have brought down the plane with surface-to-air missiles.
Others have pointed the finger at Ukraine which is marking its Independence Day today.
The Wagner group’s fighters have been the most effective for Russia in its war on Ukraine.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s aviation agency, published the names of all 10 people on board the downed plane.
This included Prigozhin and his deputy Dmitry Utkin who helped found the Wagner mercenary group.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has said it is looking into the crash which happened while the plane was travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin in Africa where his Wagner mercenaries have been operating
The committee has confirmed in a statement that 10 people were killed and a criminal case has been opened – but there was no mention of Prigozhin.
A Reuters reporter at the crash site has seen men carrying black body bags away from the scene on a stretcher.
Part of the plane’s tail and other fragments lay on the ground near a wooded area where forensic investigators had erected a tent.
Grey Zone, a Telegram channel linked to Wagner, has pronounced their leader dead.
The group also hailed Prigozhin as a hero and a patriot who had died at the hands of unidentified people it called “traitors to Russia”.
Read more:
Putin’s revenge was a dish best served cold
What we know about the crash
Emergency specialists carry a body bag near wreckages of the jet
Mourners left flowers and lit candles near Wagner’s offices in St Petersburg early on Thursday.
Some unnamed sources told Russian media they believed the plane had been shot down by one or more surface-to-air missiles.
Whoever or whatever was behind the crash, Prigozhin’s death would rid Mr Putin of someone who had mounted the most serious challenge to the Russian leader’s authority since he came to power in 1999.
Others who have opposed Mr Putin or his interests have also died under unclear circumstances or come close to death, including outspoken political leaders and journalists.
Wreckage from the private jet which crashed north of Moscow
The Kremlin has always denied any state involvement in such incidents.
Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin speech writer turned critic whom the Russian authorities have branded a “foreign agent”, suggested, without evidence, that the Russian leader, who is expected to run for another term in office next year, was behind the crash and had strengthened his authority in the process.
“The establishment is now convinced that it will not be possible to oppose Putin,” Gallyamov wrote on Telegram. “Putin
is strong enough and capable of revenge.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin and Vladimir Putin in 2011. Pic: AP
The plane that crashed, a Brazilian Embraer Legacy 600 model, has only recorded one accident in over 20 years of service, according to website International Aviation HQ, and it was not due to mechanical failure.
Embraer said it has complied with international sanctions imposed on Russia and had not provided maintenance for the
aircraft since 2019.
The plane showed no sign of a problem until a precipitous drop in its final 30 seconds, according to flight-tracking data.
Prigozhin was last seen in a video on Monday that appeared to have been shot in Africa, where he spoke about making the continent “free”.
The Wagner Group boss released footage of himself speaking while wearing camouflage and holding a rifle.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
Read more:
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Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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