Russia: Genetic tests confirm Wagner chief Prigozhin’s death in crash.
All ten passengers on board the private plane that crash on Wednesday in the Tver region northwest of Moscow were already identified by name by Russia aviation department. Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, his assistant who assisted in the founding of the Wagner group, were among them.
According to a statement from Russia’s Investigative Committee, “molecular-genetic examinations have been completed as part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region.”
“Based on their findings, all 10 of the deceased’s identities were determined. They match the list provided on the flight sheet,” it stated.
Some others questioned if Prigozhin, who was known to take extensive security measures in preparation for potential assassination attempts, had indeed been on the ill-fated flight.
The incident happened exactly two months after Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries staged a coup against Russian military leaders, seizing control of Rostov in the south and making their way toward Moscow before turning around 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the capital.
Putin called the revolt that took place on June 23–24 a cunning “stab in the back,” but subsequently met with Prigozhin in the Kremlin. On Thursday, he extended condolences to the families of those killed in the collision.
Western politicians and analysts have claimed that Putin ordered the execution of Prigozhin as retaliation for the mutiny, which also constituted the greatest challenge to his own leadership since he into office in 1999.
Such claims were described as “an absolute lie” by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Peskov responded that it was too early to determine whether Putin will attend wagner Prigozhin’s burial and mentioned the president’s “busy schedule” when asked if he may.
