Shruti Suman
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group that staged a rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been reported dead due to a plane crash, as announced by Russian authorities on Wednesday. Although the cause of the crash has not been officially disclosed, suspicions have arisen regarding the circumstances of Prigozhin’s death. Despite Putin condemning the June uprising as an act of “treason,” Prigozhin, the leader of the private military company, had seemingly evaded immediate consequences by striking a deal with the Kremlin, which allowed him to exit Russia and relocate to Belarus.
In response to Prigozhin’s demise, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of SpaceX (referred to as X), remarked that the time it took for this event to occur was “longer” than he had anticipated. He also added, “There is a slight chance that this is a psychological operation.”
Musk’s comment came in reply to a statement from an X user who noted, “That didn’t take too long.”
Prigozhin, along with his forces, had entered Russia to overthrow the country’s military leadership back in June. The 62-year-old was aboard a private aircraft that crashed during a journey between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Preliminary reports indicate that all ten individuals on board, including three crew members, lost their lives in the crash, as confirmed by the Ministry. The Russian aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, has initiated a special commission to investigate the incident involving the aircraft belonging to MNT-Aero. Simultaneously, Russia’s Investigative Committee, responsible for probing serious crimes, has opened its own inquiry into the crash.
Up to this point, the remains of eight individuals have been located at the crash site, according to RIA Novosti, which cites information from emergency services.
