-
FromBedrettin Bölükbasi
close
After his private jet crashed, Wagner boss Prigozhin was presumed dead. There is no official confirmation yet. In any case, videos should show the crash.
Twer – About two months ago, the mutiny of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, caused a stir in Russia. Now Prigozhin causes a stir again, but this time with his alleged death. On Wednesday evening (August 23), Russian media reported that a private jet crashed near the village of Kushenkino in Russia’s Tver region. It quickly became known that this was a Prigozhin machine.
Crash in Russia: Wagner boss Prigozhin could be dead
According to the passenger list, the Wagner boss was in the private jet together with his colleague Dmitry Utkin and other Wagner commanders and mercenaries. A total of three crew members and seven passengers flew in the Embraer private jet. All ten were killed in the crash, reported Russian aviation authorities, who initiated investigations on site. Meanwhile, Russian media in the short message service Telegram published footage that is said to show the crash of Prigozhin’s plane.
Various videos, probably taken by residents of surrounding villages, show smoke rising from the plane in the air and the plane falling towards the ground in a completely uncontrolled manner. Debris breaks off. Footage from the crash site later emerged. The videos show burning debris and clouds of black smoke.
A video shared by Russian online news publication Mash on Telegram on Aug. 23 shows the crash site of Wagner Group’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private plane in Russia’s Tver Oblast.
Video: Russian online news publication Mash / Telegram pic.twitter.com/Ju0RckTGDE
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) August 23, 2023
Cause of the crash of Prigozhin’s jet unknown: speculation on the Internet
The cause of the crash is not yet known. In any case, there is speculation on the Internet as to whether it was an accident or whether the private jet of the Wagner boss was specifically attacked. Experts had expected revenge from Vladimir Putin. Several Russian Telegram channels published a statement from villagers that two explosions were first heard before the plane fell out of the air. In addition, photos were distributed that are said to show the partially punctured wing of the private jet. It could be damage caused by submunitions from air defenses, it said.
Speculations as to whether Prigozhin is actually dead are also making the rounds. After the jet crashed, a second plane landed in Moscow. Telegram channels close to Wagner claimed that Prigozhin could be in the second plane that landed safely. The theory: For security reasons, he put his name on the passenger list of the first private jet, but in fact got on the other plane.
No official confirmation yet: Experts urge caution about reports of Prigozhin’s death
So far there has been no official confirmation of Prigozhin’s death. It was said that all ten bodies had been recovered. But there was no explicit explanation that the Wagner boss is actually among the corpses. “Until we’re sure it’s the real Prigozhin, we shouldn’t be surprised if he suddenly pops up in a new video from Africa,” Russia analyst Keir Geiles told the Washington Post.
After all, it had previously been revealed that Prigozhin worked with doubles and held numerous passports with different names. As early as October 2019, it was falsely claimed that Prigozhin died in the crash of an An-72 military aircraft. However, he later appeared in a video.
Putin’s circle of power in the Kremlin – the confidants of the Russian President
Putin’s circle of power in the Kremlin – the confidants of the Russian President
Russian state broadcaster devotes only 40 seconds to Prigozhin’s plane crash
Official channels of Wagner on Telegram also released statements and urged their supporters not to spread unconfirmed reports and information. Some channels close to Wagner, such as “Grey Zone”, had spoken of Prigozhin’s death in their contributions. “A hero of Russia died at the hands of the traitors of Russia, but even in Hell he is the best,” wrote Gray Zone. A similar report followed for Dmitry Utkin, along with the piece “Valkyrie Ride” by the German composer Richard Wagner, on whose name the mercenary group is based.
In the St. Petersburg headquarters of Wagner, the windows were lit in the form of a cross after reports of Prigozhin’s death. People gathered in front of the building and laid flowers and wreaths. On Russian state television, however, the crash of Prigozhin’s plane was apparently not very important news. Like the British Times reported, the relevant story only appeared for 40 seconds in the 53-minute newscast and was the 14th of a total of 17 stories. (bb)
#Accident #Shootdown #Videos #show #crash #Prigozhin #plane