According to the British Ministry of Defense, the incident is still under investigation, and “no final conclusion has been reached”.
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| The scene after the plane crash believed to be carrying Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on the evening of August 23 in Tver, Russia. (Source: Russian Investigative Committee) |
On August 25, the British Ministry of Defense said that there was no solid evidence that Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the plane that crashed on August 23, killing all 10 people on board. However, according to the Ministry, it is "very likely" that Mr. Prigozhin was killed.
In a defense intelligence update, the British Ministry of Defense said that the departure of the head of Wagner “would almost certainly be deeply destabilizing” for the group.
At 6:20 p.m. (local time) on August 23, an Embraer Legacy private jet believed to be owned by Mr. Prigozhin crashed in Bologovsky district, Tver province, Russia.
The Russian Air Transport Agency said there were 10 people on board, including 3 crew members and 7 passengers. The passenger list included the name of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. By 10 p.m. the same day, 8 bodies had been found at the scene.
According to the latest information, the Russian Investigative Committee said that the bodies of all 10 people on the flight have been found, but did not release their identities or confirm the information that tycoon Prigozhin had died, nor the cause of the plane crash.
On August 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to the families of the Wagner members who died on the plane, but did not provide specific information.
President Putin revealed that on August 23, Wagner had just returned from Africa and met with a number of Russian officials. According to Mr. Putin, the official investigation into the incident will take a long time, before investigators come to an official conclusion.
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