2023 Wagner Group plane crash information

2023 Wagner Group plane crash
	The aircraft involved in the crash, pictured in 2022
Crash
Date	23 August 2023
Summary	In-flight breakup
Site	Kuzhenkino, Tver Oblast, Russia ; 57°44′52″N 33°57′15″E / 57.74778°N 33.95417°E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Embraer Legacy 600
Call sign	RA02795
Registration	RA-02795
Flight origin	Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
Destination	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Occupants	10
Passengers	7
Crew	3
Fatalities	10
Survivors	0

On 23 August 2023, an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet crashed near Kuzhenkino in Tver Oblast, approximately 100 kilometres (60 mi) north of its departure point in Moscow. Among the ten victims were Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, the key figures of the Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] The crash prompted speculation that the jet was destroyed on the orders of Russian president Vladimir Putin, after Prigozhin had led the Wagner Group rebellion exactly two months prior.^[5]

Tracking data from Flightradar24 showed unusual altitude variations followed by a "dramatic descent" shortly before the plane crashed.^[6] Visual evidence suggested structural failure of the aircraft.^[7] Western intelligence reported that an explosion likely caused the airplane to crash.^[8]

The aircraft, manufactured by Brazilian company Embraer, had been associated with Prigozhin since 2018. It was barred from the United States due to sanctions imposed on Prigozhin after his involvement in the Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections.^[9]

While official Russian sources downplayed the crash, some intelligence agencies and international leaders suggested it was a politically motivated assassination.^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] Prigozhin's previous criticism of the Russian Defense Ministry and open rebellion against Russian state forces were cited as potential motivations for foul play. The deaths of Prigozhin, Utkin and Chekalov are among several sudden deaths of Russian officials since 2022 considered suspicious.

^ Seddon, Max (23 August 2023). "Yevgeny Prigozhin was passenger on crashed plane, Russian officials say". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.(subscription required)
^ Troianovski, Anton (23 August 2023). "Russia-Ukraine War: Prigozhin Listed as Passenger on Plane That Crashed, Killing All Aboard". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
^ Росавиация, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (23 August 2023). "По данным авиакомпании на борту самолета Embraer - 135 (EBM-135BJ) находились следующие пассажиры" [According to the airline, the following passengers were on board the Embraer - 135 (EBM-135BJ)]. Telegram (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
^ Binns, Daniel (23 August 2023). "Wagner Group commander Dmitry Utkin was on plane that crashed north of Moscow, Russian civil aviation authority says". Sky News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
^ Faulconbridge, Guy (30 August 2023). Trevelyan, Mark; Fletcher, Philippa (eds.). "Kremlin says Prigozhin plane may have been downed on purpose". Reuters. Moscow. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
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[ft20230823-1] Seddon, Max (23 August 2023). "Yevgeny Prigozhin was passenger on crashed plane, Russian officials say". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.(subscription required)

[2] Troianovski, Anton (23 August 2023). "Russia-Ukraine War: Prigozhin Listed as Passenger on Plane That Crashed, Killing All Aboard". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.

[3] Росавиация, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (23 August 2023). "По данным авиакомпании на борту самолета Embraer - 135 (EBM-135BJ) находились следующие пассажиры" [According to the airline, the following passengers were on board the Embraer - 135 (EBM-135BJ)]. Telegram (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.

[4] Binns, Daniel (23 August 2023). "Wagner Group commander Dmitry Utkin was on plane that crashed north of Moscow, Russian civil aviation authority says". Sky News. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.

[5] Faulconbridge, Guy (30 August 2023). Trevelyan, Mark; Fletcher, Philippa (eds.). "Kremlin says Prigozhin plane may have been downed on purpose". Reuters. Moscow. Retrieved 6 September 2023.

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2023 Wagner Group plane crash information

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Crash
The aircraft involved in the crash, pictured in 2022
Date	23 August 2023 (2023-08-23)
Summary	In-flight breakup
Site	Kuzhenkino, Tver Oblast, Russia 57°44′52″N 33°57′15″E / 57.74778°N 33.95417°E / 57.74778; 33.95417
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Embraer Legacy 600
Call sign	RA02795
Registration	RA-02795
Flight origin	Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
Destination	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Occupants	10
Passengers	7
Crew	3
Fatalities	10
Survivors	0