Russia confirms the death of the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeni Prigozhin

He was traveling with nine other people in a crashed plane this Wednesday north of Moscow

The founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, was traveling aboard a private plane that crashed this Wednesday in the Russian region of Tver, north of Moscow, as confirmed by the Russian federal aviation agency, after the authorities left the seven passengers and three crew members for dead.

The plane, which was flying from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, crashed near the town of Kuzhenkino. The Emergencies Ministry assured from the outset that ten people had died, but the event reached a political turn when the agency that coordinates air transport, Rosaviatsiya, identified Prigozhin as possible passengers.

Hours later, the institution has released the final list of people who were on board, with the name of Yevegni Prigozhin on it. The list released on social networks also includes a close ally of Prigozhin, Dimitri Utkin.

They have also given the leader of Wagner dead, channels on Telegram related to the organization, including Gray Zone, which has even ensured that the plane could have been shot down. Gray Zone has also shared an unpublished video in which Prigozhin visits graves of mercenaries killed in combat.

The Rosaviatsiya agency has opened an investigation, which will, among other things, examine the flight logs and the black boxes. The Investigation Committee has also initiated its own proceedings to determine if there may be some type of criminal responsibility, reports the Interfax agency.

Prigozhin's whereabouts had been a constant source of speculation since just two months ago he perpetrated a rebellion against the Kremlin, in which his troops even advanced on Moscow. The oligarch reappeared this week in a video in which he suggested that he was in Africa.