Pentagon Believes Prigozhin Likely Died in Plane Crash

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group, is believed to have been killed in a plane crash near Moscow, according to the Pentagon’s press secretary, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. While the cause of the crash and whether it was intentional remains unknown, the U.S. has assessed that Prigozhin likely died in the incident.

“Based on various factors, our initial assessment is that he was likely killed,” Ryder stated during a press briefing.

Russia’s civilian aviation agency has reported that Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a Russian business jet, along with Wagner Group co-founder and commander Dmitry Utkin and eight others. However, there has been no official confirmation of their deaths.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is currently being conducted by Russian authorities.

Independent Russian sources and social media channels affiliated with Wagner have speculated that small explosions in the air, captured on a personal video yet to be confirmed by The Hill, suggest that the plane was shot down by air defenses.

According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials believe that a bomb may have exploded on the aircraft or some form of sabotage caused the crash.

Regarding these claims, Ryder stated that there is no information to support the theory that a surface-to-air missile was fired at the plane but refrained from commenting on the possibility of an internal bomb explosion.

The crash occurred approximately two months after Prigozhin staged a brief rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin marched with thousands of soldiers toward Moscow before ultimately stopping and exiling himself to Belarus.

In response to the crash, Putin, who claimed to have known Prigozhin since the 1990s, acknowledged Prigozhin’s challenging life. Putin stated that Prigozhin had made serious mistakes but also achieved necessary results both personally and for the common goal when asked to do so.

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