Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin presumed dead in plane crash: Russian officials

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The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which in June attempted to topple Russia's military leadership, was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday, with all passengers killed, Russian officials said.. Yevgeny Prigozhin's short-lived rebellion was seen as the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority since he came to power...

Russia's ministry for emergency situations on Wednesday announced the crash of a private plane travelling between Moscow and Saint Petersburg...

Prigozhin, Yevgeny," said Rosaviatsia, which also listed Dmitry Utkin, a shadowy figure who managed Wagner's operations and allegedly served in Russian military intelligence...

In Saint Petersburg, people laid flowers and patches bearing the Wagner skull logo at a makeshift memorial outside the private mercenary group's headquarters, AFP journalists said.. Rosaviatsia said it set up a special commission to investigate the crash of the aircraft belonging to MNT-Aero...

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled leader of the opposition of Belarus -- where some Wagner fighters moved after their short-lived mutiny in Russia -- said Prigozhin would not be missed in her country...

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