Sources close to the Russian paramilitary group Wagner have confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the militia, died in the air accident of his private Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 aircraft (registration RA02795). The plane crash occurred near the village of Kuzhencino, Russia. There would be 10 people on board the jet, all dead. From rumors it emerges that among them there would be several members of the Wagner Group.

According to the "Telegram Baza" channel, passengers included right-hand man Dmitry Utkin, head of the security service Valery Chekalov and other members such as Yevgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin, Serghei Propustin and Nikolai Matuseyev. "He was a hero of Russia, a true patriot who died as a result of the actions of Moscow's traitors", Wagner wrote on its "Telegram" channel.

Meanwhile, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have ordered the shooting down of Prigozhin's plane, in an attempt to publicly restore the established order and his "domination", avenging the humiliation after the mercenary mutiny of June 24, 2023. US President Joe Biden takes the same line: "I don't know for sure what happened, but it doesn't surprise me. There aren't many things happening in Russia that haven't behind Putin's hand".

On the matter see also the article published by AVIONEWS.

Below, the video. Homemade footage shows the plane crashing to the ground. Later, images show the aircraft engulfed in flames in a field in Bologovsky District, Tver Region, Russia.