Johannesburg - Russian officials have said that genetic analysis has confirmed that former Vladimir Putin’s ally, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in the plane crash on Wednesday.
Prigozhin, his deputy, Dmitry Utkin (call sign ‘Wagner’), five other passengers and three crew members were killed in the crash which occurred north of Moscow.
Russia’s investigation committee said the genetic analysis confirmed the identities of 10 people, including Prigozhin, who were on board the Embraer Legacy 600 jet.
A video went viral last week showing the plane falling, dropping one side of the wing, and exploding.
The person who captured the incident was heard speaking Russian, sounding terrified.
On Friday, investigators confirmed that the remains of all 10 people on board the plane had been recovered and that the jet’s flight recorders had been found.
Last week, Russia’s civil aviation authority said Prigozhin, along with some of his top lieutenants, were on the list of those on board the plane.
“As part of the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular genetic examinations have been completed... The identities of all 10 of the dead have been established. They correspond to the flight manifest,” an investigative committee spokesperson said yesterday.
Commenting on the crash, Russian president Vladimir Putin characterised Prigozhin as a “man with a difficult fate” and someone who had “made serious mistakes", but he also praised him and Wagner for their ”significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine“.
According to the Sputnik New Agency, some Western leaders and media jumped to accuse Putin of responsibility for Prigozhin’s death, citing the latter’s role in June’s mutiny attempt.
The Kremlin and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, who helped defuse the mutiny attempt, vocally dismissed these allegations.
Prigozhin himself said repeatedly, including during June’s events, that he remained loyal to Putin as Russia’s commander-in-chief and that his beef was with the defence ministry’s leadership.
According to Wikipedia, Prigozhin was a Russian oligarch, mercenary leader, and former close confidant of Putin until he launched a rebellion in June 2023. Prigozhin was sometimes called “Putin’s chef”, as he owned restaurants and catering companies that provided services for the Kremlin.
Additional reporting from Sputnik News Agency
The Star