Russian authorities confirms death of Wagner chief Prigozhin

Moscow, The Gulf Observer: Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been formally confirmed dead following genetic analysis, investigators said, as anger and questions over what caused his plane to crash earlier in the week continued to mount.

“Molecular-genetic examinations have been completed as part of the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region,” Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman from Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Sunday.

“According to their results, the identities of all 10 victims were established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight list,” she added.

Speculation that the Kremlin may have been involved in the crash has been rife, with the incident coming exactly two months after Wagner staged a mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership.

Among the nine other people listed onboard the Embraer private jet that crashed on Wednesday was Dmitry Utkin, a shadowy figure who managed Wagner’s operations and allegedly served in Russian military intelligence.