Yevgeny Prigozhin | The Wagner chief killed in a plane crash
2023 12:52 pm | Updated 01:31 pm IST
Wagner chief killed LIVE updates: The fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he mounted the mutiny.
Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a brief armed rebellion against Russia's military leadership in June, was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday. Mercenaries of the Wagner Group were fighting in Ukraine but Prigozhin increasingly denounced Russia’s defense establishment for denying weapons and ammunition to his forces. In June, the Wagner boss abruptly called for an armed uprising to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and led his forces to seize the military headquarters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, vowed to punish those behind the rebellion, calling it “betrayal” and “treason.” Prigozhin, however, called off the action within 24 hours in a deal struck by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a brief armed rebellion against Russia's military leadership in June, was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday. Mercenaries of the Wagner Group were fighting in Ukraine but Prigozhin increasingly denounced Russia’s defense establishment for denying weapons and ammunition to his forces. In June, the Wagner boss abruptly called for an armed uprising to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and led his forces to seize the military headquarters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, vowed to punish those behind the rebellion, calling it “betrayal” and “treason.” Prigozhin, however, called off the action within 24 hours in a deal struck by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
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- Aug 24, 2023 01:36 PM IST
Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin's revenge
Reports suggest that the death of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and top officers of his private military in a plane crash was widely seen as an assassination. The incident came just two months after they staged a mutiny that dented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority.
- Aug 24, 2023 12:53 PM IST
France sees 'reasonable doubts' over Prigozhin plane crash
France on Thursday said that there were "reasonable doubts" about the cause of the plane crash that presumably killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner paramilitary group."We don't yet know the circumstances of this crash. We can have some reasonable doubts," government spokesman Olivier Veran told a regional channel, reported Reuters.
- Aug 24, 2023 12:09 PM IST
Amid reports of Prigozhin’s death, old video of ‘unforgiving’ Putin in spotlight
In a 2018 interview, now viral after the plane crash, Putin was asked if he's a forgiving person. The Russian president replied in the affirmative but said "not everything". When the interviewer asked him what was impossible for him to forgive, Putin quickly replied, "Betrayal". Read more here
- Aug 24, 2023 11:40 AM IST
Channel linked to Wagner pronounced Prigozhin dead
A Telegram channel linked to Wagner, Grey Zone, pronounced Yevgeny Prigozhin dead, and hailed him as a hero and a patriot who it said had died at the hands of unidentified people it called "traitors to Russia", reported Reuters.
- Aug 24, 2023 11:08 AM IST
All you need to know about Yevgeny Prigozhin
Once a low-profile businessman who benefited because of his connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine as he headed the mercenary force Wagner. Click here to read all about the Wagner founder
- Aug 24, 2023 10:28 AM IST
Prigozhin held meeting with Russian officials before plane crash?
Unconfirmed Russian media reports said that Prigozhin and his associates had attended a meeting on Wednesday with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry, reported Reuters.
- Aug 24, 2023 10:11 AM IST
Wreckage of the crashed plane
A wreckage of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen near the crash site in the Tver region, Russia, August 24 (REUTERS) - Aug 24, 2023 09:54 AM IST
Who is the Wagner group?
The Wagner Group (officially called PMC Wagner), is a private military organization run by an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin with tens of thousands of fighters, according to US officials. The group was formed by Dmitry Utkin, a former Russian officer, and financier Yevgeny Prigozhin. Read more here
- Aug 24, 2023 09:14 AM IST
Inevitable: Former MI6 official
Christopher Steele, former head of the Russia desk at Britain's foreign intelligence agency (MI6), told BBC that it was "inevitable" that this would be Prigozhin's ending.
