Why did the plane crash and was Prigozhin on board? Versions

On August 23, a private plane used by the head of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in the Tver region. All ten people, according to Rosaviatsii, who were on board, died. Rosaviatsia claims that among the passengers were Prigozhin himself and PMC commander Dmitry Utkin (call sign “Wagner”), as well as other commanders and mercenaries of PMC “Wagner”. On the morning of August 24, the bodies of the dead and their badly burned parts were brought to the Tver Regional Bureau of Forensic Medicine. It was not officially reported that any of them had been identified.

A source from the Al Jazeera TV channel at PMC “Wagner” reported that Prigozhin’s phone was found next to one of the phones. Telegram channels connected to PMC write that Prigozhin died. At the same time, an interlocutor of “Meduza”, close to the Kremlin, does not rule out that Prigozhin may be alive: “He is a trickster, a troll. He has informants in various structures, so we have to wait.” PMC “Wagner” did not officially comment on the incident.

One of the versions that began to be expressed by mass media, including Western ones, in connection with the catastrophe – the involvement of the Russian authorities in it. This version is based on the fact that exactly two months ago, Prigozhin entered into a direct confrontation with the Russian authorities, leading an armed march of PMC “Wagner” to Moscow. “Putin takes no prisoners,” noted an informed Western official in an interview with the Financial Times. He claims that the plane was shot down by the Russian air defense system. The same version is adhered to by some Telegram channels associated with PMC “Wagner”.

Frank Gardner, a BBC security journalist, writes on Twitter, with reference to sources in the British military department, that the Federal Security Service of Russia is behind the plane crash, which probably killed the founder of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to Gardner, the most likely purpose of eliminating Prigozhin was “strengthening the positions of his enemies, [министра обороны России Сергея ]Shoigu and [начальника Генштаба ВС РФ Валерия] Gerasimova”.

A number of Telegram channels publish photos of the wreckage showing small holes, which they interpret as evidence that the plane was shot down by anti-aircraft missiles.

The plane suddenly began to fall from a great height, the pilots did not give a distress signal. Specialists in the field of investigation of air accidents, with whom “Kommersant” spoke, assume that the plane was shot down or an explosion occurred on board. A number of pro-war telegram channels also promote the version of the terrorist attack. “VChK-OGPU” published the story of a relative of the deceased flight attendant: before departure, she said that the flight was delayed due to minor repairs. Earlier, the same Telegram channel reported that at the last moment, a box of expensive wine, which could contain a bomb, was loaded on board the business jet. Telegram channel Shot writes, again with reference to the source, that the explosive device could have been placed in the chassis compartment.

• At the same time, a criminal case has been initiated under the article on violation of the rules of safety and operation of the vehicle. According to RBC, the investigation of the case was entrusted to the investigator of the main department for the investigation of particularly important cases of the SKR, Ivan Sybul. Among other things, he investigated the crash of “Superzhdet” in Sheremetyevo, during which 41 people died, as well as the disaster at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, which resulted in the death of the CEO of the French oil company Total, Christophe de Margery.