The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed on Sunday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group, died in a plane crash on Wednesday, according to genetic analysis performed on the remains.
“Molecular genetic testing has been completed as part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region,” says Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman for the Commission of Inquiry, adding that “according to the results, the identities of all ten victims, who match the list provided in the flight list appeared”.
Among the nine other people aboard the private Ebraer plane was Dmitry Utkin, an obscure figure who directed Wagner’s operations and who allegedly belonged to Russian military intelligence.
Speculation abounds that the Kremlin could be involved in Wednesday’s crash. The incident took place exactly two months after Wagner organized a mutiny against the Moscow military leadership.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the crash as “tragic” and called rumors of a possible crime an “absolute lie.”
Russian authorities have opened an investigation into air traffic violations after the crash, but have not released details about the possible cause of the plane’s crash.
Source: DN
