Staff Reports
In a tragic turn of events, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group PMC, was killed in a plane crash in Russia. The crash occurred when a Brazilian-made Embraer jet carrying Prigozhin and several other high-ranking officials went down near Kuzhenkino. The details surrounding the crash are still unclear, but there are speculations that the plane may have been shot down by the Wagner Group itself. Russian sources have been pushing theories of a bomb on the plane, but these claims seem unlikely at this point.
Russian State Media Says Wagner Group Honcho Yevgeny Prigozhin is Dead; What Comes Next? https://t.co/MRG0jDadL5
— RedState (@RedState) August 24, 2023
Prigozhin’s death has raised many questions about the future of the Wagner Group. Without their leader, it is expected that the group will quickly dissolve, leaving behind a power vacuum. This will undoubtedly have repercussions within the ruling Kremlin clique, as they process the fact that Putin was willing to openly kill a longtime associate and confidant. Whether or not Putin ordered the hit, the Russian people have little doubt that he was involved in some way.
Is it normal for the wing to fall off of an Embraer jet mid flight like that? 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/AFklMiaKRe
— James Voodoo Fella (@80ef1b1416904ef) August 23, 2023
A video appeared, which allegedly shows the moment of the crash of Prigozhin's plane. pic.twitter.com/KkTmw7LoH9
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 23, 2023
🚨 BREAKING: Bodies of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin reportedly found at the crash site of the plane belonging to Prigozhin near Moscow. 🍿 https://t.co/JlLPbSgcBd
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) August 23, 2023
🚨#BREAKING: Russian outlets on telegram are reporting that a terrorist attack on board #Prigozhin's jet caused it to crash; They are saying a bomb could of been in a box of wine. pic.twitter.com/sEXl6TOvNI
— World Source News 24/7 (@Worldsource24) August 23, 2023
🇷🇺🇧🇾Russia claims they found a bomb inside Prigozhin's business jet and that was planted when jet was being repaired in Belarus:
"The version of explosive device on board is being verified.The circle of people who could impose it is very limited and they are being investigated."— OSINT Expert (@OsintExperts) August 24, 2023
Chekalov oversaw all of Prigozhin's "civilian" projects abroad – geological exploration, oil production, or agriculture. He was in charge of the logistics for the Wagner. He was head of JSC Neva, the founder of Euro Polis LLC, to which all Syrian and African projects were tied.2/
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) August 23, 2023
Yevgeny Makaryan – former district police officer. He joined Wagner in March 2016.
He was part of the fourth Wagner assault detachment in Syria, which came under fire from American aircraft near Khasham in January 2017. He was wounded in his left thigh. 3/ pic.twitter.com/FDi3Ri1ueJ
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) August 23, 2023
Sergey Propustin – call-sign "Kedr". fought in the second Chechen war. He joined Wagner in March 2015. Since 2016, the unit has been called the second reconnaissance and assault detachment. In 2016, Prigozhin recruited many body guards from this detachment. 4/ pic.twitter.com/LvonC09dFA
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) August 23, 2023
Nikolai Matuseev – Dossier Center could not find a person with that name on the Wagner lists. But there is Nikolai Matusevich joined Wagner in January 2017. He served in the fourth assault detachment in Syria. End/
Source: Dossier Center pic.twitter.com/5cs9MSn9p2
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) August 23, 2023
One of Prigo’s co-passengers was Alexander Totmin. He was in the SBU-compiled database we used for our big Wagner investigation at @newlinesmag while back. His Insta shows he liked expensive cars and kittens: https://t.co/JWOSDP6Ukj pic.twitter.com/PobSudQSy0
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) August 23, 2023
Interestingly, this is not the first time Prigozhin has died in a plane crash. In 2019, he was also reported to have died in a plane crash while providing support for the Congolese president. The timing of this latest crash is noteworthy, as it comes just months after Prigozhin led his Wagner Group fighters in a mutiny or coup attempt. This suggests that there may be political motivations behind Prigozhin’s death.
In addition to Prigozhin’s death, General Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces, was dismissed. Surovikin was believed to have either supported the mutiny/coup by the Wagner Group or known about it and did nothing to stop it. This dismissal is seen as a final settling of accounts and a message from Putin that he will not tolerate any challenges to his authority.
In light of Prigozhin’s death and the dismissal of Surovikin, it seems that the Russian government has decided to distance itself from the Wagner Group and focus on promoting the Redut PMC as its brand of choice for work in Africa. It is expected that Redut will absorb Wagner’s commercial ventures in Africa along with its role in the fighting. This shift in strategy could have implications for Russia’s involvement in conflicts throughout the region.
