from
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/23/1195466126/russia-wagner-prigozhin-crash

Russian officials say Wagner boss Prigozhin was on passenger list of jet
that crashed
August 23, 20231:58 PM ET
By The Associated Press

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, looks
from a military vehicle leaving an area of the HQ of the Southern
Military District in a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24.
AP
MOSCOW (AP) — A private jet crashed in Russia on Wednesday, killing all
10 people aboard, emergency officials said. Mercenary chief Yevgeny
Prigozhin was on the passenger list, but it wasn't immediately clear if
he was on board.

How a former caterer created the mercenary army fighting Putin's war in
Ukraine
UKRAINE INVASION — EXPLAINED
How a former caterer created the mercenary army fighting Putin's war in
Ukraine
Prigozhin'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.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, 'Putin's Chef,' has emerged from the shadows with his
Wagner Group
UKRAINE INVASION — EXPLAINED
Yevgeny Prigozhin, 'Putin's Chef,' has emerged from the shadows with his
Wagner Group
A plane carrying three pilots and seven passengers that was en route
from Moscow to St. Petersburg went down more than 100 kilometers (60
miles) north of the capital, according to officials cited by Russia's
state news agency Tass. It was not clear if Prigozhin was among those on
board, though Russia's civilian aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, said he
was on the manifest.

After its march toward Moscow, what's next for Russia's Wagner Group?
WORLD
After its march toward Moscow, what's next for Russia's Wagner Group?
Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing emergency
officials, that eight bodies were found at the site of the crash.

Flight tracking data reviewed by The Associated Press showed a private
jet registered to Wagner that Prigozhin had used previously took off
from Moscow on Wednesday evening and its transponder signal disappeared
minutes later.

The signal was lost in a rural region with no nearby airfields where the
jet could have landed safely.

In an image posted by a pro-Wagner social media account showing burning
wreckage, a partial tail number matching a private jet belonging to the
company could be seen. The color and placement of the number on the
engine of the crashed plane matches prior photos of the Wagner jet
examined by The AP.

This week, Prigozhin posted his first recruitment video since the
mutiny, saying that Wagner is conducting reconnaissance and search
activities, and "making Russia even greater on all continents, and
Africa even more free."

Also this week, Russian media reported, citing anonymous sources, that a
top Russian general linked to Prigozhin — Gen. Sergei Surovikin — was
dismissed from his position of the commander of Russia's air force.
Surovikin, who at one point led Russia's operation in Ukraine, hasn't
been seen in public since the mutiny, when he recorded a video address
urging Prigozhin's forces to pull back.

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.

wagner group
yevgeny prigozhin
russia

More Stories From NPR

On 8/23/23 13:22, a425couple wrote:
> from
> https://www.npr.org/2023/08/23/1195466126/russia-wagner-prigozhin-crash
>
>
> Russian officials say Wagner boss Prigozhin was on passenger list of jet
> that crashed
> August 23, 20231:58 PM ET
> By The Associated Press
>
Well, as "The Blue Penguin" said on Quora on Jun 29

Russian Invasion of Ukraine 2022 ·
Follow
Answered by
The Blue Penguin
Jun 29
First off, these posters that say he’ll continue on, business as usual,
with just a little relocation to Belarus… Anyone with military
experience and a bit time to acclimate could run Wagner’s African and
Middle Eastern ops no problem, and private militias are being absorbed
at the beginning of July into the regular Russian government forces in
any case in the Russian-Ukrainian theatre at least.

These folks obviously haven’t followed Putin’s career, and in particular
that “the traitor” looks to have had backing from at least some if not a
majority of the Russian intelligence community, and military, too, as
all these organizations would have been aware of Wagner gathering heavy
weapons and a lot of ammo right across the border from Rostov-on-Don.
That makes his treachery even worse, and him more dangerous. And if
anyone thinks Putin has a habit of keeping his word, well, oy yoy yoy,
they are obviously not Putin-watchers! I think a purge of the
intelligence services at least is inevitable.

Moving his billionaire caterer/warlord to Belarus was just to take him
out as an immediate threat and isolate him from the bulk of his troops,
as Putin has isolated others first in the past with those who’ve
betrayed him, waiting patiently to take his revenge. But I don’t think
he’ll be too patient now, for his target has a fan base in the Russian
public.

I’d be nervous if I was a high-ranking officer that got too close to
Wagner ever. If Prigozhin’s living quarters were already dusted with
polonium-210 (sp?) I wouldn’t be at all surprised, and that’s not
hyperbolic, any jokes or exaggerations aside. It’s how Putin operates.
He takes out personal enemies with poison, we’ve seen it again and again.

As far as life expectancy, if Yevgeny’s eyes see the clock strike
midnight as 2023 turns to 2024 I will be shocked. I’d bet money on him
being murdered before the year is out. The peace agreement and amnesty
were just to defuse the most pressing matters first for Putin.

652 views
View 15 upvotes
View 1 shareSubmission accepted by
Yohanan Ben Jacob