Yevgeny Prigozhin: Genetics test confirms Wagner boss was killed in plane crash, Russia investigation claims
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been confirmed dead by Russia after a plane he was travelling in crashed north of Moscow.
Following what it calls genetic examinations, Russia’s investigative committee confirmed 10 people named by its aviation board as being on the crashed jet had died.
“As part of the criminal investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular genetic examinations have been completed,” a statement read.
“According to their results, the identities of all 10 dead were established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight sheet.”
This includes mercenary leader Prigozhin and his right-hand man, Dmitry Utkin, Russia’s civil authority said shortly after the crash on Wednesday.
It has not shared any details of the test, and it has not been independently verified the 62-year-old is dead.
The crash happened months after he led a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s top military brass in June.
Russian President Vladimir Putin – who Prigozhin was once a close confidant of – described him as a “traitor” after the failed mutiny.
Prigozhin founded the Wagner private military company whose fighters have been the most effective for Russia in its war on Ukraine.
The jet came down near the village of Kuzhenkino, in the Tver region, 160 miles north of Moscow.
Footage showed it plummeting vertically to the ground – although the cause of the crash remains unclear.