Plane crash in Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin was supposed to be on the passenger list

According to preliminary information, the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. local time. The plane was about to land. According to information published by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, there were ten people on board, all of them died.

"According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, in the Tver region, near the village of Kuzhenkino, a private Embraer Legacy plane, flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed. There were ten people on board, including three crew members", it said.

According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the head of the Wagner Group was among the passengers.

"An investigation has been launched into the Embraer plane crash that happened tonight in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin is among them", the statement said.

Business jet shot down?

According to the GRAY ZONE telegram channel, which analyzes the events of the war in Ukraine, local residents heard characteristic explosions caused by the work of air defense.

"Before the disaster, residents heard two characteristic bursts of air defenses, which is confirmed by contrails in the sky in one of the videos, as well as the words of direct eyewitnesses", it was written.

At the same time, a second private plane belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin is circling over Moscow.

Prigozhin in Africa?

The head of the Russian mercenary company known as the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Tuesday released the first video since Russia's failed coup attempt. The commander claimed that he was in Africa, where his men were carrying out missions to “make Africa even more free.”

- We work at 50 degrees. Everything is as we like. Wagner conducts reconnaissance missions. We make Russia stronger on all continents and Africa even freer. Justice and joy for African nations. We are a nightmare for ISIS, al-Qaeda and other gangs. We employ real heroes and continue to fulfill the commissioned tasks that were set before us and which we promised to fulfill – said Prigozhin in the recording.

Meduza wrote, citing the journalist Andrei Zakharov, that "the entire command" of the Wagner Group flew from Africa with Prigozhin. "It will be a miracle if he is on another plane", the interlocutor said.

Earlier, the channel associated with the Wagner Group Gray Zone reported that the Embraer plane was shot down by anti-aircraft defenses in the Tver region, BBC News reported.