‘Prigozhin and other senior Wagner officers died in Russian plane crash,’ according to reports.

According to Russian officials, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been declared deceased following genetic analysis of bodies discovered in Wednesday’s jet accident.

The identities of all ten victims had been ascertained, according to the Investigative Committee (SK), and corresponded to those on the flight’s passenger list.

On August 23, Prigozhin’s private jet crashed north-west of Moscow, killing all aboard.

The Kremlin has denied any responsibility for the crash.

The SK stated that a criminal probe was ongoing.

“Molecular-genetic testing has been completed,” the company announced in a statement.

“The identities of all ten deceased have been established based on its findings, and they correspond to the list published in the flight manifest.”

Among those killed were numerous top members of Wagner, a Russian mercenary organisation founded by Prigozhin and involved in military activities in Ukraine, Syria, and areas of Africa.

Dmitry Utkin, Wagner’s military operations manager, was among them.

Wagner members Valery Chekalov, Sergei Propustin, Yevgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin, and Nikolay Matuseyev were among those on the Embraer Legacy jet heading from Moscow to St Petersburg.

Pilot Alexei Levshin and co-pilot Rustam Karimov flew the jet, and there was just one flight attendant, Kristina Raspopova.

The crash occurred two months after Prigozhin led a Wagner mutiny against Russian forces, taking Rostov in the south and threatening to march on Moscow.

The standoff was resolved when a compromise was made that resulted in the relocation of Prigozhin and Wagner fighters to Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, called the mutiny a “stab in the back,” and there has been conjecture that Russian security services were involved in the disaster.

According to US officials stated by CBS, the most likely reason of the crash was an explosion on board the jet, and Prigozhin was most likely killed.

Rumours of foul play, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, are a “absolute lie.”

Mr Putin has expressed his sympathies to the victims’ families.

He regarded Prigozhin as a “talented individual” who “made serious life mistakes.” BBC