Regarding the Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 plane crash, RT has information related to the incident up to now (20:56 August 23, 2023 - Russia time).
What details have been confirmed?
The Russian Emergencies Ministry confirmed that the plane crashed in the Tver region. All three pilots and seven passengers on board were killed. The ministry said the Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg at the time of the incident.
Rosaviatsiya, Russia's federal air transport agency, said Mr Prighozhin was on board the plane along with several senior Wagner commanders.
The moment the plane fell to the ground
Several short clips of the crash have been circulating on social media. Videos posted by the Mash and Baza Telegram channels show the plane plummeting into the ground in an apparently uncontrolled spin, with a trail of black smoke behind it. However, the footage does not show which part of the plane is on fire.
Other clips believed to have been filmed at the crash site show debris scattered across a grassy area.
Is Mr. Prigozhin definitely dead?
Although Rosaviatsiya said Prigozhin’s name was on the flight manifest, it did not explicitly state that Wagner had been killed. As of Wednesday, Russian officials said they had recovered eight bodies, although none had been named at the time. All were described as suffering from severe burns.
Several Russian media outlets identified the plane as RA-02795, which they said belonged to Mr Prigozhin. According to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24, a second plane linked to Mr Prigozhin, with the tail number RA-02878, also left Moscow shortly after the first but returned to land after news of the crash. However, none of these reports have been officially confirmed.
Who is Mr. Evgeny Prigozhin?
Mr. Prigozhin is a successful businessman and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He founded Wagner Group, a private military company (PMC) in 2014. Wagner Group has participated in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
Wagner's forces have been active in several African countries and Syria, where they reportedly clashed with US forces in 2018.
During the months-long battle for Wagner's forces to retake Bakhmut in Ukraine, Prigozhin made frequent statements to the media and publicly expressed disagreement with the Russian Defense Ministry .
HOA AN (According to RT/Photo: Telegram/WAGNER_svodki)
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