In Russia, the death of the pilots during the mutiny of PMC “Wagner” was recognized

The Russian authorities recognized the death of the pilots during the mutiny of PMC “Wagner” on June 23-24. The exact number of dead is still unknown.

Reports that during the mutiny the mercenaries of PMC “Wagner” shot down a plane and several helicopters appeared as early as June 24. Mass media and Telegram channels reported on one plane and six helicopters. Officially, the number of downed cars has not yet been confirmed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first to officially announce the death of the pilots in a televised address on June 26. At a meeting with the military on Cathedral Square in the Kremlin the next day, he called the dead pilots heroes.

On Wednesday, the Governor of the Ivanovo region, Stanislav Voskresensky, reported the death of an Il-22 aircraft, which was based in the region, near Voronezh. He did not specify the number of the dead, but instructed to provide assistance to their families.

Earlier, the names of 10 dead pilots were published by the anonymous Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU”. In turn, the Telegram channel “We can explain” communicated with the relatives of the pilots and found out that only eight crew members died – two more did not participate in the flight.

The governor of the Pskov region, Mikhail Vedernikov, reported that the Ka-52 helicopter was shot down by “Wagner” parts. According to him, the crew of two people died.

It was claimed that five more helicopters were shot down. At least some of their crews reportedly survived. The total number of dead is still unknown.

The founder of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted in his audio appeal that during his “march of justice” his troops shot down one plane and several helicopters of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. He specified that his columns did not meet armed resistance on the ground.

• On Friday, June 23, the founder of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin reported on alleged rocket attacks on the rear of “Wagner” by the Russian regular army. After that, he announced that 25 thousand “Wagner” fighters are going on an armed march to Moscow in order to bring to justice the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense, specifically Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
• Within a day, columns of PMC “Wagner” actually managed to take control of Rostov-on-Don and, presumably, Voronezh. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wagner’s performance treason. The FSB opened a criminal case against Prigozhin for incitement to rebellion, but it was dropped on June 27.
• By Saturday evening, it became known about the negotiations between Prigozhin and the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. As a result of the negotiations, the advance of the “Wagner” columns towards Moscow was stopped. According to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, units of PMC “Wagner” are returning to their original positions, and Yevgeny Prigozhin can leave for Belarus.