Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed among passengers on a private jet that crashed in Russia’s Tver region on Wednesday, Interfax reported, citing the nation’s aviation authority. All three pilots and seven passengers aboard the plane that was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg are dead, the state-run Tass news service reported.
(Bloomberg) — Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed among passengers on a private jet that crashed in Russia’s Tver region on Wednesday, Interfax reported, citing the nation’s aviation authority. All three pilots and seven passengers aboard the plane that was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg are dead, the state-run Tass news service reported.
There was no immediate confirmation that Prigozhin actually was on board the aircraft. One person close to the Kremlin said the Wagner leader takes precautions, including the use of a second airplane. The reported crash occurred two months after Prigozhin, whose forces fought for Russia in Ukraine, led a mutiny that posed the greatest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nearly quarter-century rule. “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” President Joe Biden told reporters.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pushed back against criticism that its forces are too spread out over the front line, saying concentrating them for a single, powerful assault would leave cities vulnerable to Russian attack. Ukrainian troops are pushing farther into Russia’s defenses in the Zaporizhzhia region, with fighting raging south of the recently recaptured town of Robotyne, the General Staff said.
Latest Coverage
- Wagner Chief Prigozhin Listed Aboard Crashed Jet, Reports Say
- Zelenskiy Rejects Criticism Kyiv’s Forces Are Too Thinly Spread
- Ukraine Says Russian Drone Hit Grain Storage Near Danube
- Ruble Aftershocks Unnerved Even Russia’s Least Exposed Neighbor
- Russian General Missing Since Wagner Mutiny Is Removed From Post
Markets
Several crop terminals at the Izmail port on the Danube were damaged overnight, curbing its export capacity by 15%, according to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. Wheat futures in Chicago gained for a second day. Still, large crops in other major shippers — including Russia itself — have kept the market under pressure this year, with prices down about 20% since the end of December.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.