Russia Confirms Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's Death In Plane Crash

According to a statement issued by the committee on Sunday, all ten remains retrieved at the accident site were recognised after forensic testing, and their identities "conform to the manifest."

Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. ( Image Source :Getty )

Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash, according to Russia's Investigative Committee, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported. Svetlana Petrenko, a committee spokeswoman, said in a statement that forensic testing identified all ten remains retrieved at the scene of Wednesday's disaster and that the findings "conform to the manifest" of the jet. The statement provided no information on what caused the crash.

As part of the inquiry into the plane crash in the Tver area, molecular-genetic tests have been performed, according to the investigative committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko. "According to their results, the identities of all 10 victims were established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight list," she added.

Prigozhin, along with several of his senior lieutenants, were on the list of individuals on board the plane that crashed Wednesday, according to Russia's civil aviation authorities earlier this week.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, called the tragedy as "tragic," labelling allegations of suspected foul play a "absolute lie." Following the disaster, Russian authorities launched an inquiry into air traffic infractions.

Once a low-profile businessman who benefitted from his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin rose to prominence during Russia's conflict in Ukraine as the commander of the mercenary group Wagner. Dmitry Utkin, who handled Wagner's activities and purportedly served in Russian military intelligence, was among the other nine persons identified onboard the Embraer private plane.

Two months earlier, Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a short rebellion against Russia's army senior command. The rebellion was described as a treacherous "stab in the back" by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who later met with Prigozhin in the Kremlin. He expressed his sympathies to the families of those who died in the disaster, according to the aviation agency.