Yevgeny Prigozhin, former Wagner Group boss, confirmed dead by Russian investigators
Yevgeny Prigozhin, former Wagner Group boss, confirmed dead by Russian investigators
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former head of the private military company Wagner Group, was confirmed dead using genetic testing, Russian investigators said Sunday.
Yevgeny Prigozhin officially confirmed as deceased
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former leader of the private military organization known as the Wagner Group, has been officially confirmed as deceased through genetic analysis, according to Russian investigators' announcement on Sunday.
The Main Investigation Department of Russia's Investigative Committee released a statement over the weekend, following earlier speculations about Prigozhin's demise in a plane crash.
The concise statement reads, "Molecular genetic examinations have been concluded as part of the investigation into the aircraft incident in the Tver region. The results have positively identified the individuals of all ten deceased occupants, confirming their alignment with the names listed on the flight manifest."
Though not directly mentioned in the statement, Prigozhin's presence on the flight roster had been disclosed by Russian authorities beforehand.
Leading a failed uprise
Prigozhin's passing marks the culmination of a months-long sequence of events that initiated in late June. During that time, he led an armed uprising against Russia's military leadership in protest of their handling of President Vladimir Putin's campaign in Ukraine.
Ultimately, the Wagner mercenaries turned back before reaching Moscow. The intervention of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close associate of both Putin and Prigozhin, led to a resolution offering shelter to the mercenary chief and his personnel in Belarus.
Vanished from public view
Even though the coup didn't advance to Moscow, the incident significantly embarrassed Putin and his struggling war efforts. In a bid to quell further insurrection, Russia promptly moved to suspend Wagner Group's social media accounts.
Prigozhin himself effectively vanished from public view, and reports about his whereabouts varied. Following the rebellion, a Russian survey indicated that public opinion toward Prigozhin had soured, leading to the removal of military leaders affiliated with him from their positions.
His fighters, however, arrived in Belarus shortly thereafter and were poised to commence training the Belarusian Armed Forces. Belarus subsequently shared visual evidence suggesting that Wagner instructors were conducting training sessions for Belarusian troops near Asipovichy in the Mogilev Oblast of Belarus.
The exact cause of the plane crash that claimed Prigozhin's life remains unclear. However, given past occurrences, there are suspicions that Putin might have employed methods such as poison to silence his critics.