Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s physique ‘identified by missing finger’
Aug 25, 2023 at 3:43 PM
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agner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s physique was recognized by a lacking a part of his finger, it has been reported, because the British Ministry of Defence mentioned the Russian warlord’s loss of life would have a “deeply destabilising” affect on the personal army.
The mercenary group boss, and 9 others, are believed to have been killed when a enterprise jet crashed in Russia’s Tver area after a suspected explosion on Wednesday night.
Wagner subject commander Dimitry Utkin and logistics chief Valery Chekalov are additionally thought to have perished within the crash, which got here two months after Prigozhin ordered his troopers to march on Moscow in a brief lived mutiny in opposition to Vladimir Putin.
Kristina Raspopova, a 39-year-old air stewardess, was the one girl to be killed. Shortly earlier than take-off she had shared a picture on social media of her consuming breakfast along with her cabin bag subsequent to her.
Prigozhin’s physique was reportedly recognized by {a partially} lacking finger on his left hand – an harm he sustained whereas serving time in a penal colony, Russian new sourced reported.
Wagner Group Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | Plane Crash | August 2023
In its morning briefing, the MoD mentioned it was “highly likely” the previous Putin loyalist died within the aircraft crash, however warned there was “not yet definitive proof”.
“The demise of Prigozhin would almost certainly have a deeply destabilising effect on the Wagner Group,” it added.
“His personal attributes of hyper-activity, exceptional audacity, a drive for results and extreme brutality permeated Wagner and are unlikely to be matched by any successor.
“Wagner’s leadership vacuum would be compounded by the reports that founder and field commander Dimitry Utkin and logistics chief Valery Chekalov also died.”
A Pentagon spokesman additionally mentioned the US believed the Wagner chief was possible killed within the crash.
The West has advised Putin ordered the assassination of Progozhin, who he believed had betrayed him by staging the June coup in opposition to his regime.
Putin broke his silence over the reported loss of life on Thursday evening.
The Russian president described the mercenary group boss as “talented person” who “made serious mistakes in life”.
He additionally despatched condolences to the households of the folks mentioned to be on board when the aircraft was downed north-west of Moscow.
It comes as a video reportedly highlighting a rare safety breach on Prigozhin’s enterprise jet on the day it crashed was launched.
It reveals how the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft was proven to “potential buyers” at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow simply hours earlier than it was destroyed amid fears a bomb was planted on board, in line with the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel.
It comes because the US introduced it’ll start flight coaching for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in October.
The Pentagon mentioned the pilots would begin English-language classes subsequent month earlier than flight coaching is ready to happen on the Morris air nationwide guard base in Tucson, Arizona.
Denmark and the Netherlands have pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine, fulfilling longstanding calls from president Volodymyr Zelensky for the jets.
Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, on Thursday mentioned his nation would additionally give Ukraine F-16s.
