The crash of a private jet with a Russian mercenary leader Prigozhyn and Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine
The assassination of a rival by the ruthless ruler is often the result of atrocities perpetuated by Mr. Putin in Russia. Mr. Putin may posthumously honor Mr. Prigoshyn as a hero, or at least to blame his death on the West. For now most observers believe the evidence and means point to Mr. Putin.
In the summer of 2015, Mr. Prigozhn sent his mercenary group to march on Moscow to win over Russia’s military leaders. There was no shortage of people who probably wished him dead, including those same Russian military leaders, or the Ukrainians, or the African and Syrian rebels savaged by his mercenaries.
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.
A partial tail number matching a private jet belonging to the company can be seen in an image posted by a pro-Wagner social media account. 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.
Russian President Putin praised the heroes of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as the news about the crash broke.
Russians have always suspected that official news is doctored by the Kremlin because of their penchant for rumor and conspiracy. The first reports of a plane crash with someone like Yevgeny Prigo the passenger, spread like wildfire and caused a lot of speculation. Perhaps he was not on the plane and had staged his death to disappear. Or maybe President Vladimir Putin now had Mr. Prigozhin in a secret dungeon. The mercenaries he unleashed blew the plane up.
Russia’s aviation authority offered no comment on the reason for the crash and said that it had created a special commission to investigate “the circumstances and causes of the accident.”
The Legacy 600 business jet was manufactured by the Brazilian company, but it will not be supported in the new year due to sanctions. Typically that support is largely maintenance related. It can include data monitoring, but it is unknown whether that was the case with this jet.
The Russian Embassy in Kushushne-York said on Twitter after the flight of the Vlasov Air Force Missile
According to Interfax, Russia’s Emergency Services claim that the remains of the 10 people on board the plane have been recovered.
Russia said Ukraine launched more drones into its territory overnight, all three of which it said it shot down. Two were intercepted over the Bryansk region, which shares a border with Ukraine, and one over the Kaluga region, which is closer to Moscow, Russia’s defense ministry said. Russia’s statement has not been independently verified. The capital has had a disruption in air traffic in the last few days.