Prigozhin, Utkin, and Wagner Command Staff Reportedly Dead in Plane Crash.

Jakarta, Indonesia - On 23rd of August Moscow Time, a plane en route to Saint Petersburg from Moscow crashed, reportedly killing all passengers on board. Among those on board were Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, the Private Military Corporation which in the past had involvement in conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

“An investigation of the Embraer plane crash that happened in the Tver Region this evening was initiated. According to the passenger list, first and last name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in this list," Said the Federal Agency for Air Transport of Russia according to the news outlet TASS Russian News Agency. (23/08/23)

In addition, Russian journalist Andrey Zhakarov has stated that the entire command staff of the Wagner Paramilitary Corporation was on board the plane, including Prigozhin’s right hand man and second most influential figure in Wagner, Dmitry Utkin.

The plane seems to have been boarded by members of Wagner travelling from Africa to Russia, most likely after overseeing possible Wagner involvement in the Niger Political Crisis.

“Prigozhin flew to Russia from Africa today, with him was the entire command staff of Wagner PMC” Said Zhakarov, as reported by the @WarMonitors account on X. (Formerly known as Twitter).

Ever since the first reports of the incident, Wagner’s de-facto media arm “The Grey Zone'' has confirmed the death of Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, making it highly likely that the top Wagner officials were actually killed in the crash. Furthermore, Russian State Media Tsargrad TV reported that the remains of Prigozhin and Utkin were found in the crash site. It is unclear the cause of the crash, with the only detail confirmed that the plane went through an explosion.

After their confirmation of the death of Prigozhin and Co, members of Wagner made an ominous statement from Belarus, 2 months after Wagner PMC affiliates moved Headquarters to the country after Prigozhin and Wagner affiliates attempted a botched coup in Russia.

“There’s a lot of talk right now about what the Wagner Group will do. We can tell you one thing. We are getting started, get ready for us.” Said members of Wagner in a statement, reported by Visègrad 24.

The current state of the Wagner Private Military Corporation’s hierarchy remains unclear. With Prigozhin and with Utkin likely dead with a significant portion of the Wagner Command Staff, the verdict on who the most likely successor of Prigozhin as head of Wagner is still out.

The Brawijaya Times will be attempting to provide the latest updates on the situation. Stay tuned.

UPDATE (24/8/23 13:18 WIB): Recent reports indicate Russia and Belarus shut down communications between Wagner members, potentially limiting the group’s ability to make coordinated decisions effectively, which comes after the release of Wagner’s ominous statement from Belarus.

This is a continuing news story, and articles may be updated depending on new updates.

Image source: ABC