(TJV) Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group was aboard the private plane that was downed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday, 10 were killed as most media outlets reported.
Initially, Wagner itself confirmed Yvgeny Prigozhin’s death, with Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel Grey Zone calling it a “murder”, Zero Hedge reported
“The murder/assassination of Prigozhin will have catastrophic consequences. The people who gave the order do not understand the mood in the army and morale at all. Let this be a lesson to all. You always have to go to the end,” the Wagner channel statement reads.
FT has summarized the following details of emerging Wagner statements:
A post by Grey Zone, a Wagner-connected social media channel, claimed Russian anti-aircraft defences had shot down the plane. It said that residents heard “two bursts of characteristic air defense fire” before the crash. “This is confirmed by inversion traces in the sky in one of the videos,” it added. Mash, a news outlet on social media app Telegram, said locals had heard two loud bangs before the crash.
The same report cited a Western official to say it was an anti-aircraft missile that struck the private jet.
Another video of the crash of Prigozhin’s plane #Russia pic.twitter.com/Yx06O8cjql
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) August 23, 2023
Prigozhin’s personal jet crashed near Tver. Prigozhin and 10 other people including Wagner Commander Dmitry (Wagner) Utkin reportedly have died. The jet was flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg pic.twitter.com/zsjLG0tbsa
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) August 23, 2023
President Biden told reporters from Lake Tahoe that he’s “not surprised” when asked about Prigozhin’s reported death. “I don’t know for fact what happened, but I am not surprised,” Biden said according to Bloomberg. He then pointed the finger at the Russian President: “Not much happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind,” Biden added.
