A plane carrying Yugozhin’s mercenary company crashes in Moscow, killing all 10 people in the crash, according to Russian investigators
With the death of the leader of the group, there are questions as to what will happen to the mercenaries who have played a part in the invasions of Ukraine and Syria.
The fate of Wagner, which until recently played a prominent role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and was involved in a number of African and Middle Eastern countries, has remained uncertain.
Prigozhin’s second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, as well as Wagner logistics mastermind Valery Chekalov, also were killed in the crash. Utkin was long believed to have founded Wagner and baptized the group with his nom de guerre.
One of the Western officials who described the initial assessment said it determined that Prigozhin was “very likely” targeted and that an explosion would be in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”
A plane carrying Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in Russia last Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board, two months after Prigozhin led his mercenary company in an attempted mutiny in Russia. Russian investigators said that genetic tests confirmed the identities of the victims and the flight manifest. The investigators didn’t mention a cause for the plane crash. The Kremlin has denied speculation it had any involvement, as has the Ukrainian government.
Russia’s civil aviation authority earlier this week said Prigozhin, 62, and some of his top lieutenants were on the list of the passengers and crew members on board the plane. All seven passengers and three crew died when the plane plummeted from the sky halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Prigozhin’s hometown.
Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement that forensic and genetic testing identified all 10 bodies recovered at the site of Wednesday’s crash and the findings “conform to the manifest” of the plane. The statement didn’t offer any details about what might have caused the crash.
U.S. Response to Ukraine’s Independence Day During Russia’s War Turns 1 1/2: U.N. Security Council Meets Robotyne
The military of Ukraine said on Monday it had regained the southeastern settlement of Robotyne. Analysts will be watching for further signs of Ukrainian advances in the region.
This week, members of a United Nations commission are due to visit Ukraine as part of their investigation into reports of violations of human rights and international law.
The Ukrainian war came up in a debate of Republican presidential candidates. Ron DeSantis, polling in second place, called on Europe to “pull their weight,” and Vivek Ramaswamy slammed U.S. support for Ukraine as “disastrous.” But candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie argued the U.S. should continue to stand up against Russia. The front-runner for the party’s nomination, former President Donald Trump, did not attend the debate.
Leaders of the BRICS countries gathered in South Africa — minus Russian President Vladimir Putin. He defended Russia’s actions in Ukraine in a video message delivered to the summit last Tuesday, even as other countries pushed a peace plan.
Ukraine celebrated Independence Day last Thursday for the second time during Russia’s invasion, which reached the 18-month mark that day. Some of the wrecked Russian military vehicles and equipment were put up for public display again. Also Thursday, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Ukraine, in which Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said U.N. workers had documented the deaths of 9,444 civilians, including 545 children, but that the real figures are likely much higher.
Evan Gershkovich was held by a Moscow court for three months. An American journalist appealed the extension. The US government says he was wrongly held by Russia.
Source: Latest on Ukraine: Wagner chief Prigozhin died as Russia’s war turned 1 1/2
Associated Diffraction in Ukraine: NPR’s Take on The War on the Front Line on Ukrainian-held Territory in the Zaporizhzhia Region
Russia said that Russian air defenses downed all the drones that were launched by Ukrainians toward Moscow last Friday. Reuters said the operations could have amounted to some of the largest coordinated Ukrainian air attacks against Russian-held territory to date. Russia also continued to fire missiles at Ukraine. On the battlefield, Ukraine’s military reported gaining some territory in the Zaporizhzhia region.
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