Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary force Wagner, was listed among 10 passengers reported killed when a private jet crashed north of Moscow.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred exactly two months after Prigozhin led his fighters in a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership.
Prigozhin’s name was on the passenger list. He had accused Russian military leaders of negligence regarding his forces’ ammunition in May.
After Prigozhin called for toppling Russia’s military command, Army Chief Surovikin made an unusual video appeal to Wagner. Shortly after, Prigozhin agreed to exile in Belarus. Surovikin’s subsequent absence fueled speculation of detainment. A lawmaker suggested Surovikin was “resting” in July.
Paris said on Thursday that there were “reasonable doubts” about the “circumstances” surrounding the plane crash that is reported to have killed Prigozhin, Al Jazeera reported.
French government spokesman Olivier Veran was asked about the crash and US President Joe Biden’s claim that little “happens in Russia that (President Vladimir) Putin is not behind” on France 2 television.
He responded: “We don’t yet know the circumstances of this crash. We can have some reasonable doubts.”
