Russian Mercenary Chief Prigozhin Listed as Passenger on Plane Which Crashed with No Survivors

24 June 2023, Russia, Rostov-on-Don: A screen grab from a video released by Prigozhin Press Service, shows Wagner paramilitary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, delivering a video speech in Rostov-on-Don. (Prigozhin Press Service/dpa)
24 June 2023, Russia, Rostov-on-Don: A screen grab from a video released by Prigozhin Press Service, shows Wagner paramilitary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, delivering a video speech in Rostov-on-Don. (Prigozhin Press Service/dpa)
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Russian Mercenary Chief Prigozhin Listed as Passenger on Plane Which Crashed with No Survivors

24 June 2023, Russia, Rostov-on-Don: A screen grab from a video released by Prigozhin Press Service, shows Wagner paramilitary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, delivering a video speech in Rostov-on-Don. (Prigozhin Press Service/dpa)
24 June 2023, Russia, Rostov-on-Don: A screen grab from a video released by Prigozhin Press Service, shows Wagner paramilitary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, delivering a video speech in Rostov-on-Don. (Prigozhin Press Service/dpa)

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, the Russian authorities said.

There was no confirmation that Prigozhin was physically on board and Reuters could not immediately confirm that he was on the aircraft, which crashed north of Moscow.

"An investigation has been launched into an Embraer plane crash that occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin is among them," Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation agency, was cited as saying by the state TASS news agency.

Russia's emergency situations ministry said in a statement that a private Embraer Legacy aircraft travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg had crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region.

It said that 10 people had been on board, including three crew members. According to preliminary information, everyone on board had been killed, it said.

Prigozhin, 62, spearheaded a mutiny against Russia's top army brass on June 23-24 which President Vladimir Putin said could have tipped Russia into civil war.

The mutiny was ended by negotiations and an apparent Kremlin deal which saw Prigozhin agree to relocate to neighboring Belarus. But he had appeared to move freely inside Russia after the deal nonetheless.

Prigozhin, who had sought to topple Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, on Monday posted a video address which he suggested was shot in Africa.



Kremlin Says Russia Will Appoint a New Ambassador to the United States

Tourists walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin during World Tourism Day in Moscow, Russia, 27 September 2024. (EPA)
Tourists walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin during World Tourism Day in Moscow, Russia, 27 September 2024. (EPA)
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Kremlin Says Russia Will Appoint a New Ambassador to the United States

Tourists walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin during World Tourism Day in Moscow, Russia, 27 September 2024. (EPA)
Tourists walk on the Red Square outside the Kremlin during World Tourism Day in Moscow, Russia, 27 September 2024. (EPA)

The Kremlin said on Monday that a new Russian ambassador to the United States would be appointed, dismissing speculation that relations with Washington were being downgraded at the end of the term of the current envoy Anatoly Antonov.

The Siberian-born Antonov, 69, a career diplomat, had been head of the Russian embassy in Washington since 2017. He said in July that his assignment was coming to an end.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin was not currently scheduled to receive Antonov, but added that an ambassador had the opportunity to report to the president daily.

Asked if the return of Antonov indicated that relations with Washington were being downgraded, Peskov said: "No, of course an ambassador will be appointed in a timely manner."

The current confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine is unparalleled in history and a mistake could lead to catastrophe, a senior Russian diplomat said on Thursday when asked about comparisons to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

The 2-1/2-year-old Ukraine war, the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two, has triggered a major confrontation between Russia and the West, and Russian officials say it is now entering its most dangerous phase to date.