Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin aboard crashed plane in Russia

2023-08-23 17:20:00

The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, may have been on board a private plane that crashed in the Tver region north of Moscow, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing the government. Ten people died in the crash of this Embraer plane leaving the Russian capital in the direction of Saint Petersburg, added TASS, specifying that the device was carrying seven passengers and three crew members.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list, the news agency reported, citing the Russian civil aviation agency.

Faced with the presence of Wagner near Poland, Warsaw announces new reinforcements on the border with Belarus

A video posted on Monday

The announcement comes as Yevgeny Prigojine released his first video on Monday since his failed mutiny attempt at the end of June, a document in which he claimed to be in Africa.

In these images broadcast on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, the businessman appeared standing in a desert area, in camouflage, with a gun in his hand. In the distance, we can see armed men and a van. Archyde.com was unable to geotag the video or verify the date it was taken.

“The temperature is +50 – just the way we like it. The Wagner PMC (Private Military Company) makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa more free,” he said in the video. Yevgeny Prigozhin added that Wagner, who is recruiting mercenaries, “will carry out the tasks entrusted to him. »

The paramilitary group is already present in Mali, a neighboring country of Niger, where its fighters were hired in 2021 by the military junta to fight against Islamist groups. Western countries present in Niger as part of anti-jihadist operations fear that the junta in power in Niamey since the July 26 coup is also turning to Wagner’s troops.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a return to constitutional order in Niger, while Yevgeny Prigojine welcomed the coup.

Besides Mali, Wagner is active in the Central African Republic and Libya. Western countries claim that the group is also present in Sudan, which he denies.