Financial Times: Prigozhin's Plane Shot Down By Russian Air Defence System Missile

There are four S-300 divisions near Putin's residence where it crashed.

Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane, which crashed in Russia's Tver region, was shot down by Russian air defence systems. A Western official who was given the relevant information said this to the Financial Times.

The FT source could not confirm whether Prigozhin was on board, but noted, "Putin takes no prisoners."

Four S-300 divisions are stationed near the site where the Embraer ERJ 135 business jet crashed, not far from Vladimir Putin's residence in Valdai, to guard the residence, a source in the Russian government told The Moscow Times.

The plane went down literally 50 kilometres from the residence. "Look at the way it fell," the source said. "It was just shot down. The plane just lost the glider."

If Prigozhin was indeed in the crashed plane, the cause of what happened to him is something to be sought in the June mutiny, which he himself called a "march of justice," another source close to the Kremlin told The Moscow Times.

Search operations at the crash site near the village of Kuzhenkino ended around 11 p.m. and all 10 bodies of those on board were found, an emergency services source told Interfax. The bodies were badly burned, one had his head torn off, another had his face badly smashed, Baza writes.

Rosaviatsia published a list of passengers, including Prigozhin and his deputy Dmitry Utkin, an ex-GRU special forces lieutenant colonel. Utkin, according to Reuters, was in charge of the column marching toward Moscow on June 24.

Prigozhin's death was reported by Grey Zone, a telegram channel close to Wagner. According to journalist Aleksandr Zakharov, the death of the "chief" was also being reported to employees of Prigozhin's structures.

RBC's source in law enforcement agencies said that the investigation is considering three versions: piloting error, technical problems and external influence. A version of a terrorist attack is also being considered.