If Prigozhin’s in Hell, He’ll Soon Be Running the Place
The latest from Russian media following the death of PMC Wagner’s chief
As you might imagine, Russian media is ablaze with talk about Yevgeny Prigozhin’s sudden demise when his private jet crashed in the Tver region, near the village of Kuzhenkino, north of Moscow. His Embraer business jet departed Sheremetyevo airport at about 6:00 PM local time and was due in St. Petersburg about an hour and a half later, but the aircraft disappeared from radar just 15 minutes after takeoff.
Speculation runs rampant, mixed with a few tantalizing morsels of new information. My source on all things Wagner cannot tell us anything that isn’t already known by the Russian press, and this story is rapidly developing, so here is just some of what is now being reported in Russian media.
Special protocol triggered
At this hour, the commanders of the PMC are preparing an announcement, which is expected to come soon. This is part of a special Wagner protocol which went into play when the deaths of its boss, Prigozhin, and its Commander, Dmitry Utkin, were announced, according to Tsargrad TV’s channel on the Russian platform Dzen, which reports that Wagner’s commanders will record a video message about what happened.
According to Tsargrad’s sources, the DNA of those who died in the crash still needs to be tested for 100% confirmation. All ten on board the Embraer Legacy 600 were killed, including its 3-member crew and five other passengers in addition to Utkin and Prigozhin.
Rosaviatsiya, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) has assigned a special commission to investigate the crash of the plane and an investigative committee from the FATA has opened up a criminal case under the article on violation of the rules of safety of movement and operation of air transport of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The investigators will look into every version of events, including the possibilities of pilot error, mechanical malfunction and external influence.
Strange timing
The crash of the Embraer Legacy took place on the two month anniversary of the date when Prigozhin led around 8,000 Wagner troops on an armed rebellion in the direction of Moscow and shot down a Russian Il-22 aircraft, killing ten airmen on board. Prigozhin’s plane also crashed on the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day. These facts have not escaped the investigators’ notice.
“Two loud claps” heard
According to one of News.ru’s sources, two loud claps — or pops — were heard just before the ship’s wing and stabilizer fell off and it crashed into an abandoned farm. A witness recording video of the crash said “Bang, it exploded twice! Falling! Look at it, it’s falling!”
And former US Nuclear Arms Inspector Scott Ritter, speaking on Judge Napolitano’s “Judging Freedom” podcast yesterday, said that the way the plane was falling, spiraling down from the sky, it looked like it had lost a wing and had likely been hit by some kind of surface-to-air missile.
Above: Former Marine Intelligence Officer Scott Ritter discusses Prigozhin plane crash with Judge Napolitano. Below that: Video of Prigozhin’s plane falling to the ground.
Second plane made zig-zag motions
When news of the plane crash was first heard, many questioned whether it could be true and hours went by before there was any confirmation. Prigozhin was known to hide his whereabouts in order to fool those who followed him. For example, he was known to check on board one plane but actually be on another.
For a time, it was thought he could be on the second plane. And the second plane, which returned to Moscow following the crash of the first plane, made strange zig-zagging motions according to Flightradar service, “as if the crew did not know where to fly.”
Evasive maneuvers, perhaps? No, according to Readovka, the plane zig-zagged to dump excess fuel since it needed to return to Moscow, where it landed at Ostafyevo airport.
Ukrainian terrorist attack?
Prigozhin was a man with many enemies. It was well known that some Russian oligarchs despised him, especially after he announced that he had made a list and he was coming for them. He was also widely hated in the West, and of course, in Ukraine, which suffered heavy losses at the hands of his Private Military Company. Russian political scientist Sergei Markov believes that Ukrainian agents carried out a terrorist attack as a special “Independence Day gift” to their leadership, taking advantage of Prigozhin’s lack of state protection following his armed rebellion in June.
Prigozhin’s last public appearance
The day before his death, Prigozhin published his first video since the PMC’s so-called “coup attempt,” in which he stated that Wagner was conducting reconnaissance and exploration tasks which would “make Russia even greater” and “Africa more free.” The businessman said that Wagner would be dealing with ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other gangs and that PMC Wagner “takes on the job of real heroes and continues to fulfill the tasks that have been set.”
Late in July, the Nigerian military announced the overthrow of its country’s president, Mohamed Bazoom, and blocked him from his residence. Then a curfew was imposed and all state institutions stopped working for a time. By August 10th, it was known that the leader of the rebels in Niger, Abdourahamane Tchiani, had signed a decree for the formation of a transitional government.
Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded the return of President Bazoum, promising to take forceful action if this did not happen within a week. There is speculation that the rebels may have turned to the “Orchestra” for help following those statements.
Russian air defense triggered?
Tsargrad also spoke with a veteran member of PMC Wagner, who asked not to be identified.
“It is possible that the air defense system was triggered,” the unnamed Wagnerian said, “That is, if we are talking about liquidation, there are people here who could have given a command to the air defense system. Judging by the footage of the fall, it is most likely that the Pantsir could have worked on the plane, because the Buk would have torn it apart, but it fell in one piece. But it’s not a fact… And if two pops were heard on the video, it could have been two missiles. But it’s not a fact either, there are no traces of missiles on the video I saw.”
Could it have simply been a terrible accident?
I think most of us would agree with this unnamed Wagnerian, who said, “An accident with that flight? I don’t believe it.”
Prigozhin’s second fatal plane crash
It may not come as a shock to those familiar with the billionaire’s antics, but Yevgeny Prigozhin was reported “killed in a plane crash” before, in 2019. That time, Prigozhin’s employees had no idea their boss was still alive as it was only known by a select few. And later, it was revealed that he had staged his death.
The chances of that, this time, are slim.
But if Prigozhin is in Hell, I imagine that this former convict — who became a chef, who became a billionaire, who challenged the Kremlin — may soon be running the place.
Just before I could publish this article, the Press Service for PMC Wagner made the following statement on their Telegram channel:
“In connection with the great loss for all who supported and support all commanders and musicians, we ask not to engage in amateurism, do not take any measures inside the country, while there is an external threat, the First — Ninth would not approve of ill-considered decisions on our part, we are ‘Musicians’ and Batya made all of us brothers. Only the victory over the external enemy will give us the advantage and strength to sort out inside our home.”
About the author:
Deborah Armstrong currently writes about geopolitics with an emphasis on Russia. She previously worked in local TV news in the United States where she won two regional Emmy Awards. In the early 1990’s, Deborah lived in the Soviet Union during its final days and worked as a television consultant at Leningrad Television. You can support Deborah’s writing at Paypal or Patreon, or donate via Substack.
