Russian state media reported on Wednesday, August 23 2023, that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group , was listed as a passenger on a jet that crashed north of Moscow.
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The private Embraer Legacy aircraft crashed while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Services.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Services added that the jet had “10 people on board, including three crew members,” when it came down in the Tver region to the northeast of the Russian capital.
“According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, an investigation has been launched into the Embraer crash,” state-run RIA Novosti reported separately.
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While Russian officials said that Prigozhin was on the passenger list, it was not immediately clear if he was in the aircraft.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but Prigozhin’s lengthy grudge with the military, as well as the armed insurrection he spearheaded in June, would provide the Russian state with ample reason to exact retaliation. According to Wagner-affiliated media, the plane was shot down by a Russian air defence missile.
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