In this image from a video provided by Prigozhin Press Service on Friday, May 5, 2023, the head of Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin stands in front of multiple bodies lying on the ground in an unknown location. Yevgeny Prigozhin鈥檚 armed revolt against Russia鈥檚 military leadership posed the greatest challenge to Vladimir Putin鈥檚 authorities in his 23-year rule. (File photo from the Prigozhin Press Service via AP)
MOSCOW 鈥� Russian authorities on Sunday confirmed the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, putting to rest any doubts about whether the wily mercenary leader turned mutineer was on a plane that crashed Wednesday, killing everyone on board.
Genetic testing on the 10 bodies recovered at the crash site 鈥渃onform to the manifest 鈥� for the flight, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. Russia鈥檚 civil aviation authority had said Prigozhin and some of his top lieutenants were on the list of seven passengers and three crew members.
The Investigative Committee did not indicate what might have caused the business jet to plummet from the sky halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Prigozhin鈥檚 hometown.
But the crash鈥檚 timing raised suspicions of a possible Kremlin-orchestrated hit, while Prigozhin鈥檚 chameleon-like background allowed for speculation that he wasn鈥檛 on the plane or had somehow escaped death.
Two months ago, Prigozhin, 62, mounted a daylong mutiny against Russia鈥檚 military, leading his mercenaries from Ukraine toward Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin decried the act as 鈥渢reason鈥� and vowed punishment for those involved.
Instead, the Kremlin quickly cut a deal with Prigozhin to end the armed revolt, saying he would be allowed to walk free without facing any charges and to resettle in Belarus. Questions remained about whether the former ally of Russia鈥檚 leader would face a comeuppance for the brief uprising that posed the biggest challenge to Putin鈥檚 authority of his 23-year rule.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane to go down. As suspicions grew that the Russian president was the architect of an assassination, the Kremlin rejected them as a 鈥渃omplete lie.鈥�
One of the Western officials who described the initial assessment said it determined that Prigozhin was 鈥渧ery likely鈥� targeted and that an explosion would be in line with Putin鈥檚 鈥渓ong history of trying to silence his critics.鈥�
Prigozhin鈥檚 second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, as well as Wagner logistics mastermind Valery Chekalov, also were killed in the crash. Utkin was long believed to have founded Wagner and baptized the group with his nom de guerre.
The fate of Wagner, who until recently played a prominent role in Russia鈥檚 military campaign in Ukraine and was involved in a number of African and Middle Eastern countries, is uncertain.
After the mutiny, the Kremlin said Prigozhin would be exiled to Belarus, and his fighters were offered three options: to follow him there, retire, or enlist in Russia鈥檚 regular army and return to Ukraine, where Wagner mercenaries had fought alongside Russian troops.
Several thousand Wagner mercenaries opted to move to Belarus, where a camp was erected for them southeast of the capital, Minsk.
RELATED STORIES
Kremlin calls accusations it killed Wagner boss Prigozhin an 鈥榓bsolute lie鈥�
Old video sparks wild theories on fate of Russia鈥檚 Prigozhin
Putin orders Wagner fighters to sign oath of allegiance after Prigozhin鈥檚 demise
ATM