Key takeaways:
- Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash north of Moscow.
- Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a top general linked to Prigozhin, was dismissed from his position as commander of the air force.
- The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation and it is unclear if Prigozhin’s death will be confirmed.
On Wednesday, a plane crash north of Moscow killed all 10 people on board, including mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. The crash has raised suspicions as Prigozhin had led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year.
The fate of Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, has been the subject of intense speculation since the mutiny. Russian media reported that a top general linked to Prigozhin, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, was dismissed from his position as commander of the air force. Surovikin, who at one point led Russia’s operation in Ukraine, hasn’t been seen in public since the mutiny.
President Vladimir Putin denounced the rebellion as “treason” and a “stab in the back” and vowed to avenge it. However, even if Prigozhin’s death is confirmed, it is unlikely to have an effect on Russia’s war in Ukraine, where his forces fought some of the fiercest battles over the last 18 months.
The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation. The Russian civil aviation agency is leading the investigation and has not yet released any details about the crash. It is unclear if Prigozhin’s death will be confirmed or if the crash was related to the mutiny.
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