MOSCOW. Russian authorities have officially confirmed the demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, laying to rest uncertainties surrounding his presence on a plane that crashed last Wednesday, resulting in the tragic loss of all passengers aboard.
The Russian Investigative Committee’s spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko, stated that genetic testing conducted on the ten recovered bodies from the crash site aligned with the flight manifest. The list of passengers included Prigozhin and some of his top associates, as indicated by Russia’s civil aviation authority.
The investigative team has yet to disclose the probable cause behind the sudden plummet of the business jet, which occurred halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Prigozhin’s hometown.
The timing of the crash, however, led to suspicions of a potential orchestrated attack by the Kremlin. Given Prigozhin’s enigmatic background, speculations arose that he might have evaded the crash or even escaped death.
Approximately two months ago, Prigozhin, aged 62, led a day-long mutiny against Russia’s military, guiding his mercenaries from Ukraine towards Moscow. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the act as “treason” and promised consequences for those involved.
Instead, the Kremlin swiftly negotiated with Prigozhin to quell the armed uprising, granting him immunity from prosecution and allowing him to relocate to Belarus. The question lingered whether this former ally of Putin would face repercussions for the brief insurrection, the most significant challenge to Putin’s authority during his 23-year rule.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that a deliberate explosion was responsible for the plane’s crash. As suspicions grew that Putin orchestrated an assassination, the Kremlin vehemently denied these claims as baseless.
An official from the Western side, describing the initial assessment, indicated that Prigozhin was “highly likely” targeted and that an explosion would align with Putin’s “consistent record of silencing critics.”
Prigozhin’s second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, along with Wagner’s logistics mastermind Valery Chekalov, also perished in the crash. Utkin was often linked to the founding of Wagner and was closely associated with the group.
The future of Wagner, previously a prominent participant in Russia’s military endeavors in Ukraine, as well as various African and Middle Eastern countries, now remains uncertain.
After the mutiny, the Kremlin announced that Prigozhin would be exiled in Belarus, offering his fighters three choices: to accompany him, retire, or join Russia’s regular army and return to Ukraine where Wagner mercenaries had operated alongside Russian forces.
A significant number of Wagner mercenaries opted to relocate to Belarus, where a camp was established southeast of the capital, Minsk.
AP contributed to this report.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
