In St. Petersburg, people are bringing flowers to the former headquarters of the "Wagner Private Military Company."
According to Euronews many admirers of Evgeny Prigozhin, who died in an airplane crash along with his associates, are gathering near a café on University Embankment. This is where war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky also lost his life.
The Investigative Committee has initiated a preliminary investigation into the plane crash that resulted in the deaths of Prigozhin and his associates. It is presumed that Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner PMCs, died in the airplane crash.
On August 24, in the Tver region, his business jet crashed during a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg. A message on one of the channels related to "Wagner" states:
"Hero of Russia, true patriot of his homeland - Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin - died as a result of the actions of Russia's traitors."
The aircraft had 3 crew members and 7 passengers on board. Their bodies were found at the crash site.
In addition to Prigozhin, the plane also carried two of his deputies: Dmitry Utkin, commander of the "Wagner Group," and Valery Chekalov, presumably responsible for the PMC's security service.
The aircraft disappeared from radars 26 minutes after takeoff, and pilots did not report any emergencies. Eyewitnesses claim that the business jet exploded in the sky.
Prigozhin was last seen in a video, filmed in an undisclosed location in Africa, one day before the airplane crash, two months after a failed uprising.
There has been no official response from the Kremlin yet, while the international community is "monitoring the situation."
However, US President Joe Biden did not rule out Vladimir Putin's involvement in the incident.
"While I cannot say for sure what happened, I'm not surprised. In Russia, little happens without Putin's involvement."
Pentagon spokesperson General Patrick Ryder stated that press reports about the plane being shot down by a "surface-to-air" missile are inaccurate. He did not specify whether the US suspects a bomb on board or is ready to label the airplane crash as an assassination attempt.
Intelligence assessments emerged when Putin expressed condolences to the families of those on board the plane and pointed out "serious mistakes" by Prigozhin.
Supporters of Prigozhin claimed on Wagner-related channels in social media that the plane was intentionally shot down.
Russian state media did not extensively cover the crash, focusing on Putin's speeches at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg via video link and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Several Russian social media platforms reported that the bodies of the deceased were burned or disfigured beyond recognition, necessitating DNA identification, as reported by independent Russian media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also pointed to the Kremlin, stating that Ukraine "has nothing to do with it. Everyone understands who is behind this."
"It's no coincidence that the world immediately turns its gaze to the Kremlin when a plane of the notorious ex-ally of Putin suddenly crashes two months after an attempted uprising," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, also noting that not everything is clear regarding this airplane crash.
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