Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was named as a passenger on a private plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday evening with no survivors, Russian officials said.
There was no proof that Prigozhin was allegedly on board, and reports have yet to confirm his presence on the plane when it crashed north of Moscow.
“An investigation into an Embraer plane crash that occurred tonight in the Tver region has been launched. The name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin appear on the passenger list,” Rosaviatsia, Russia’s aviation agency, was quoted as saying by the Russian TASS news agency.
A private Embraer Legacy aircraft flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the town of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region, Russia’s emergency situation ministry said.
It was reported that ten people were on board, including three crew members. According to preliminary information, everyone on board had died.
On June 23–24, Prigozhin, 62, led a mutiny against Russia’s senior army leadership, which President Vladimir Putin warned might have sent the country into civil war.
Negotiations and an apparent Kremlin compromise ended the mutiny, with Yevgeny agreeing to transfer to nearby Belarus. Nonetheless, he looked to be moving freely throughout Russia following the settlement.
Prigozhin, who had attempted to depose Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov, issued a video speech on Monday that he said was filmed in Africa.
