Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed dead after genetic analysis of plane crash victims: Russian officials

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who challenged the legitimacy of Russia's defence establishment through a short-lived mutiny in June, has been confirmed dead by Russian officials.

The Russian authorities gave out the confirmation on Saturday, August 27, over threedays after a private plane crashed in the north of Moscow that had Prigozhin as one of the passengers.

Russia's Investigative Committee (SK) said the identities of all 10 victims have been established by genetic analysis and matched with those on the flight's passengers' list.

The SK said it was continuing a criminal investigation.

"Molecular-genetic testing has been completed," it said in an official statement.

"According to its results, the identities of all 10 deceased have been established, and they correspond to the list published in the flight manifest."

Russia's aviation agency on August 24 had said that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group, was on board the crashed plane.

August 24 plane crash: What happened?

Russian aviation officials on August 24 confirmed the aircraft, an Embraer Legacy, which was flying between Moscow and St Petersburg crashed in the Tver region, north of Moscow.

But Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone claimed that the jet had been shot down by the Russian military.

Wagner chief dead in plane crash: Who all are the casualties?

The victims included several senior figures in Wagner group, including Dmitry Utkin, who managed Wagner's military operations.

The crash came two months after Prigozhin led a Wagner mutiny against the Russian armed forces, seizing the southern city of Rostov and closing on to Moscow in a stunning leap of challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority.

The standoff was defused after a deal was reached which led to Prigozhin and Wagner fighters relocating to Belarus after a reported mediation by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

President Vladimir Putin described the June mutiny as a "stab in the back" and there has been speculation that Russian security forces were somehow involved in the crash.

The insinuations related to the alleged involvement of Russian state into plane crash were denounced by Russia as "absolute lie".

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