Putin's Revenge: Evgeny Prigozhin Dies in Moscow Plane Crash

A plane carrying the infamous terrorist Evgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner group launched a failed coup attempt in June, has crashed during a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg in the Tver region northwest of Moscow, near the village of Kuzhenkino. All 10 people on board, including three crew members, died in the aviation disaster, as reported by Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Financial Times reported this.

The Russian aviation agency published a list of names of individuals on the plane, including Prigozhin and his associate Dmitry Utkin. The social media page linked to the Wagner group also confirmed Prigozhin's death late on Wednesday.

Having played a significant role in Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Prigozhin led his paramilitary forces in an ill-fated march on Moscow in June. The Investigative Committee of Russia announced a criminal investigation into the crash. The Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsiya stated that it had formed a commission and was searching for the plane's black box.

A post on Gray Zone, a social media channel associated with Wagner, alleges that the plane was shot down by the Russian anti-aircraft defense system. It claims that before the crash, locals heard "two distinct anti-aircraft defense shots."

During this time, Putin was attending a concert commemorating World War II in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border. US President Joe Biden, who was on vacation at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, told journalists that he was "not certain what happened," but "not surprised." He added, "Not much happens in Russia without Putin's involvement."

White House Press Secretary Adrianna Watson stated, "If confirmed, no one should be surprised. The devastating war in Ukraine led to a private army's march on Moscow, and now this."

An anonymous Western official stated that, based on their information, the plane was downed by the Russian anti-aircraft missile system, but couldn't confirm Prigozhin's presence on board, adding, "Putin doesn't take prisoners."

Known as "Putin's chef," Prigozhin became one of the key figures in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, constantly criticizing the military leadership. In late June, he initiated a state coup known as the "March on Moscow."

Despite Wagner forces capturing control of two major cities in southern Russia, killing at least 13 soldiers when they downed two helicopters and a plane en route to Moscow, Putin seemed to have forgiven them. As per an agreement with the Kremlin, Wagner personnel left their camps and went into exile in neighboring Belarus, with its unrecognized president Alexander Lukashenko acting as a mediator for the ceasefire.

Last month, Prigozhin announced that Wagner operatives would relocate to Africa, where the group continued to fight as mercenaries in several conflicts. On Monday, he appeared in a video stating he was in Africa with a mission to "make Russia even greater on all continents."

Despite Prigozhin seemingly being reintegrated into Russian security services, US officials expressed expectation that he would face consequences. "Putin is someone who generally believes that revenge is a dish best served cold," said William Burns, CIA director, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum last month. "Putin is the chief apostle of revenge, so I'd be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution."

According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the crashed plane was the same Embraer Legacy that Prigozhin regularly used for travel within Russia and even to Africa. Lately, the plane had been conducting flights to Belarus.

When the Embraer jet last transmitted its position, it was flying at an altitude of 28,000 feet near Tver and moving at a ground speed of 513 knots. The route appears to be a standard flight path to St. Petersburg, with its last flight being on July 6.

Videos of the crash and its aftermath, shared on social media linked to Russian security services, show the plane rapidly descending from the sky, accompanied by a trail resembling anti-aircraft fire, before crashing to the ground.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) speculates that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the elimination of senior Wagner PMC leadership as revenge for their orchestrated coup attempt several months ago, resulting in the 'March on Moscow.'

Western analysts emphasize that figures in Russia's military sphere, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov, likely would not have ordered Prigozhin's demise without Putin's approval.

"The entire Russian political and security sphere presumably viewed Prigozhin's survival after the Wagner PMC uprising as Putin's decision," the publication states.

ISW notes that their conclusions are drawn assuming Putin ordered Prigozhin's assassination, unless evidence to the contrary emerges."