Wagner boss Prigozhin feared dead in plane crash

While Russian officials said that Prigozhin was on the passenger list, it was not immediately clear if he was in the aircraft.

“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,” Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport said in a statement.

The plane was flying from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow to St. Petersburg, state news agency Tass reported, according to a Google translation.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Services wrote on its Telegram account: “In the Tver region, near the village of Kuzhenkino, a private Embraer Legacy aircraft crashed while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg. There were 10 people on board, including 3 crew members.”

The 62-year-old paramilitary leader, once a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s, led a short-lived mutiny against the Russian government in late June after spending months vocally criticizing his country’s top brass. His forces, known for their particularly violent battlefield tactics, spearheaded a number of battles for Russia on the Ukrainian front.