Yevgeny Prigozhin: Russia reveals names of crew, passengers who died in plane crash

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency has shared the names of two pilots and one flight attendant who were on board in the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's private jet. In total, ten people were on board in the shocking plane crash. Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane, the chief of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, had crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday, August 23, reported CNN. 

After the plane crash of Wagner chief, who staged a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June, the Federal Air Transport Agency has initiated an investigation into the crash of the Embraer aircraft, which occurred on the night of August 23 in the Tver region, reported TASS. 

Russian agencies reveal the list of passengers on Prigozhin's private jet

Citing the airline, the agency gave the names of the lost crew members in a shocking plane crash near Moscow. Ten people were on board the aircraft, Russian state media has reported. The crew members were Captain Aleksei Levshin, Co-Pilot Rustam Karimov, and Flight Attendant Kristina Raspopova, as per a CNN report. 

Apart from Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sergey Propustin, Evgeniy Makaryan, Aleksandr Totmin, Nikolay Matuseev, Dmitriy Utkin, a trusted lieutenant of Prigozhin's since the beginning of the Wagner Group, and Valeriy Chekalov were also on board. Chekalov was a senior aide to Prigozhin designated by the US Treasury for acting "for or on behalf of Prigozhin and has facilitated shipments of munitions to the Russian Federation," reported CNN. 

Wagner chief Prigozhin's death

Russian authorities have been investigating the incident and filed a criminal case following the crash. According to the  Russian Investigative Committee,  a team has been deployed and was sent to the site where the crash took place to “establish the causes of the crash.”

Wagner forces played a crucial role in the Russia-Ukraine war and captured the eastern Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut last year. Prigozhin then spent months criticizing Russian military leadership and the support it was giving his troops before he called for the armed rebellion.

Notably, the crash comes months after Prigozhin launched a brief rebellion that posed an unprecedented challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority. However, the mutiny was short-lived as it was called off by Prigozhin after the deal with Belarus.  In the deal, the Wagner chief and his fighters were relocated to Belarus.