Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed dead in plane crash, Russian officials say

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former leader of the Wagner mercenary outfit that nearly sparked a global incident last year after he broke with President Vladimir Putin and launched a march on Moscow, was reported to have been killed in a private plane crash last week. 

According to Breitbart, Russian authorities just confirmed that one of the bodies found in the plane's wreckage was Prigozhin.

The news comes amid several reports that questioned whether or not he was actually dead or perhaps faked his death to escape his inevitable end.

Breitbart noted:

Confirming the veracity of the flight manifest for the Embraer Legacy 600 business jet that crashed in the Tver region, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Sunday morning that all ten people listed, including Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, were the same as those found in the wreckage.

Russian officials released a statement on the matter.

"As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular genetic examinations have been completed. According to their results, the identities of all ten victims have been established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight sheet," the statement read, in part.

Prigozhin's death in plane crash confirmed by genetic analysis, Moscow says | Just The News https://t.co/mZsFNArBi6

— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) August 27, 2023

Many believed it was only a matter of time before Prigozhin was snuffed out at Putin's order, given that he embarrassed the Russian leader on a global scale earlier in the year.

Putin's involvement in the death of the mercenary warlord hasn't been confirmed, but many believe it's the obvious cause.

That was evident early on, when a Telegram channel associated with PMC Wagner, where much of the group's communications took place, Prigozhin's death was labeled an "assassination" carried out by the Russian Air Force.

"The assassination of Prigozhin would have catastrophic consequences. The people who gave the order do not understand the mood in the army and the morale at all," a group called "The Grey Zone" wrote.

Denials that Russia had anything to do with the mercenary leader's death poured in.

"There is now a great deal of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic deaths of the plane’s passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, in the West, all this speculation is presented from a well-known angle," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Many observers believe Prigozhin's death, likely an act of revenge, will spell big trouble for Moscow in the coming months and years.