Overview of the plane crash carrying tycoon Wagner

Regarding the crash of the Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 aircraft, RT has information related to the incident up to now (20:56 August 23, 2023 - Russia time).

What details have been confirmed?

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry confirmed that the plane crashed in the Tver region. All three pilots and seven passengers on board were killed. The ministry said the Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg at the time of the incident.

Rosaviatsiya, Russia's federal air transport agency, said Mr Prighozhin was on board the plane along with several senior Wagner commanders.

The moment the plane fell to the ground

Several short clips of the crash have been circulating on social media. Videos posted by the Mash and Baza Telegram channels show the plane plummeting to the ground in an apparently uncontrolled spin, with a trail of black smoke behind it. However, the footage does not clearly show which part of the plane is on fire.

Other clips believed to have been filmed at the crash site show debris scattered across a grassy area.

World - Overview of the plane crash carrying tycoon Wagner

Is Mr. Prigozhin definitely dead?

Although Rosaviatsiya said Prigozhin’s name was on the flight manifest, it did not explicitly state that Wagner had been killed. As of Wednesday, Russian officials said they had found eight bodies, though none had been named at the time. All were described as severely burned.

Several Russian media outlets identified the plane as RA-02795, which they said belonged to Prigozhin. According to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24, a second plane linked to Prigozhin, with RA-02878, also departed Moscow shortly after the first but returned to land after news of the crash broke. However, none of these reports have been officially confirmed.

Who is Evgeny Prigozhin?

Mr. Prigozhin is a successful businessman and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He founded Wagner Group, a private military company (PMC) in 2014. Wagner Group has participated in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Wagner's forces have been active in several African countries and Syria, where they reportedly clashed with US forces in 2018.

During the months-long battle for Wagner forces to retake Bakhmut in Ukraine, Prigozhin frequently made statements to the media and publicly expressed disagreement with the Russian Defense Ministry .

HOA AN (According to RT/Photo: Telegram/WAGNER_svodki)

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