Russia
Authorities: Prigozhin passenger on crashed plane
Yevgeny Prigozhin during a video address in late June. photo
© Uncredited/Prigozhin Press Service/AP/dpa
For a long time, Yevgeny Prigozhin has been fulfilling dark combat missions for the Kremlin. Then he mutinied. Two months later, the mercenary chief was allegedly killed in a plane crash.
The Embraer Legacy aircraft was to fly from Moscow to St. Petersburg, where Prigozhin’s companies are based. It crashed in the Tver region near Kuschenkino, more than 200 kilometers from Moscow. There were three crew members on board.
Exactly two months ago to the day, Prigozhin (62) mutinied with his private army Wagner against the Russian leadership, although the background to these events is still unclear to this day. During the advance on Moscow, the mutineers demanded the replacement of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Sergei Gerasimov. But Prigozhin also attacked President Vladimir Putin himself. The Kremlin chief called Prigozhin a traitor. The mutiny ended with the Wagner boss and thousands of his gunmen being able to go to Belarus.
Prisoners recruited for war service
The group of mercenaries he had built up first carried out unofficial special assignments for Russia in Syria and later also in several African countries. In the war of aggression against Ukraine, Prigozhin recruited prisoners from Russian prisons. The force suffered heavy losses in the fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Priogoshin accused the regular military leadership of incompetence and corruption.
Priogschin had been in prison himself and later made a career as purveyor to the Kremlin, hence his nickname “Putin’s cook”. He is also said to have been the businessman behind the troll factories in St. Petersburg, which tried to influence western countries via social media.