The Putin Revolution: When Russia Comes to a Threshold, It Happens When Vladimir Putin Goes Beyond the First Presidency
But as is so often the case with atrocities in Mr. Putin’s Russia, the plane crash was probably exactly what it appeared to be: the assassination of a nettlesome rival by the ruthless ruler. That may never be proved; Mr. Putin may choose to posthumously honor Mr. Prigozhin as a patriot, or at least to blame his death on his pet villains, Ukrainian “fascists” and a deceitful and degenerate West. Most observers think the evidence points to Mr. Putin.
In the brutal logic of dictatorial rule, Mr. Putin would have had no choice. The president warned without warning that the revolt against Mr. Putin was an open rebellion against his rule even after Mr. Prigozhin ordered his forces on a march for justice. In Mr. Putin’s lexicon, that’s a death sentence. He is Russia.
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 belonged to the company, as seen in an image posted by a pro-Wagner social media account. The number on the engine of the plane matches the number on the jet examined by The AP.
Trump to surrender, Russia plane crash mystery: Up First briefing: GOP debate, Donald Trump to turn himself in, and Rudy Giuliani
As the news about the crash was breaking, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at an event commemorating the Battle of Kursk, hailing the heroes of Russia’s “the special military operation” in Ukraine.
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Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in at a Georgia jail today. He is accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia. Rudy Giuliani is one of a number of co-conspirators who have surrendered.
Source: Up First briefing: GOP debate, Trump to surrender, Russia plane crash mystery
A Chaplain on the Edge of Miseres: The Stories of a Lahaina, Hawaii, Survivor of the Wildfires
Friends and family are helping the residents of Lahaina, who lost their homes to the wildfire. The woman and her husband’s extended family were invited by the woman’s mother to be on his property. It’s life in Hawaii, says her husband. “We grew up sleeping in our cousin’s house. We grew up sleeping with 20 of us in one little room… Letting our kids and us be together like that brings a lot of comfort for me.” See photos of the Maui house where Okano and his family are coming together as they plan their next steps.
Four of the author’s grandparents survived the Holocaust. Because of their horrors they had experienced, she grew up seeing her family observe Jewish customs without really believing in the existence of God. She had a different approach to spirituality. I think it’s really nice to be without God. It means it’s our responsibility to take care of each other on this earth,” she says. Listen to Zoltan and Martin discuss how her spiritual outlook guides her practice as a chaplain, or read the interview here.
Russian drones intercepted by Ukrainians during the crash of a business jet with Yuzhenko’s Prigoshin passenger
Russians have always suspected that official news was doctored by the Kremlin, and that’s why they have always been averse to rumor and conspiracy. It’s not surprising that within hours of the first reports of a plane crash with someone as notorious as Yevgeny Prigoshin listed as a passenger, speculation spread like a Siberian wildfire. Perhaps he was not on the plane and had staged his death to disappear. It is possible that President Putin was in a secret dungeon with Mr. Prigozhin. The Ukrainians that he unleashed blew up the plane.
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.”
Embraer, the Brazilian maker of the Legacy 600 business jet that crashed on Wednesday, said that it had stopped providing any support for the aircraft in 2019 because of sanctions. Typically that support is largely maintenance related. It can include data monitoring, but it’s not known if that was the case with this jet.
The remains of the people on board the plane that crashed north of Moscow have been recovered, according to Russia’s Emergency Services.
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 drones have reached Moscow and disrupted air traffic.