PUTIN’S enemy Yevgeny Prigozhin is understood to have been killed in a fireball private jet crash after his plane mysteriously dropped from the sky.
The Wagner boss’ death comes exactly two months after Russia’s failed coup – and it has already sparked threats of another.
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Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane has crashed – killing him and all on boardCredit: AP
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Clips showed the plane falling from the sky before turning into a fiery heapCredit: East2West
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Horror footage showed the aftermath of the smashCredit: East2West
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The plane was reduced to charred, mangled metalCredit: AFP
Footage showed the aircraft spiralling towards the ground from 28,000ft, with smoke pouring from the fuselage.
Seconds later snaps of the aftermath showed the mangled wreckage of the white Embraer Legacy 600 business jet in a fiery heap.
It went up in flames just 31 miles from Putin’s lavish palace at Valdai, northern Russia.
Another jet flying nearby also appeared to be taking evasive action as if dodging a ground-to-air missile and turned back as Prigozhin’s jet fell.
The crash was believed to have been caused after the plane was hit by such a missile – or a bomb on board.
Sources claimed there were rumours explosives had been loaded into the private jet hidden inside an “expensive wine” crate.
Fingers were also being pointed at senior figures in Russia’s military angry that the thuggish mercenary chief had not been punished sooner for his betrayal.
In the hours after the jet plummeted tens of thousands of feet, Wagner executives confirmed the deaths of Prigozhin and the war lord’s right-hand man Dmitry Utkin.
Russian media then reported the pair had been tentatively identified.
Telegram channels first said it was the Russian rebel leader’s jet that had plunged out of the sky, and that it had been carrying his entire command staff.
Russian news Telegram channels quickly started claiming the crash could be a terrorist attack.
Reports of Prigozhin’s death then began flooding in – along with rumours all others onboard had died in the inferno.
Ten people – including seven passengers and three crew – were killed in the fiery smash, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed.
It also confirmed Prigozhin was on board the aircraft that smashed into the ground.
Locals residents claimed they’d heard “two large explosions” before the jet plummeted from the sky.
The plane was said to have crashed as it flew from the Moscow region.
It is understood Prigozhin, 62, and his staff had flown to Russia from Africa today.
In the hours after the crash, Wagner officials warned of what would come if he was dead.
A translation read: “There are rumours about the death of the head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“We directly say that we suspect the Kremlin officials led by Putin of an attempt to kill him.
“If the information about Prigozhin’s death is confirmed, we will organize a second “March of Justice” on Moscow! He’d better be alive, it’s in your own interests….”
As the plane plummeted from the sky, Putin addressed crowds to celebrate the anniversary of victory in the Kursk battle in WWII.
Shameless Putin handed out medals to troops as the news broke that his enemy was killed.
However, it was reported he had quickly left Kursk after the ceremony.
How Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin went from ‘Putin’s chef’ to Wagner rebel
WARLORD, tycoon, and Putin’s greatest enemy, Yevgeny Prigozhin rose through the ranks to control Russia’s mercenary army before dying in a fireball private jet crash.
The man, dubbed “Putin’s favourite chef” had furiously elbowed his way to a bigger seat at the Kremlin’s table and experts have long predicted his eyes were set on the top job.
Almost foretelling the current events, Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon told The Sun Online last month: “Prigozhin seems to have the gloves off at the moment.
“And in an almost Roman-type way he has an army that could march into the Kremlin and take over.”
A former gangster, his rise to power seems to have a lot to do with hefty ambition and a murky past conducted in the backrooms of the Kremlin as he rode the waves of Putin’s favour all the way to the top.
One of Russia’s most powerful men before his death, he commanded a private army of more than 50,000 men stationed in Ukraine alone, and had a fortune thought to be in millions if not billions.
The paid killer group he founded back in 2014 acts as a de facto militia in some of Ukraine’s bloodiest battles and equals the strength of quarter of Russia’s entire army.
As Russia invaded Ukraine last February, Prigozhin stepped out of the shadows to wage war on Ukraine with his private military outlet, taking the leading role in the bloody battle for Bakhmut.
Pictures revealed a life of extraordinary wealth spent on private jets, super-yachts and flash cars, and a decade-old past spent skulking in the background of the upper-most echelons of world politics.
Ever-reckless, Prigozhin had been ramping up his brazen attacks on senior Russian military leadership and more veiled threats on Putin himself.
Not long ago, he openly raged against his former patron – appearing to call the 70-year-old “grandpa” and a “complete a**hole”, before later denying he was talking about Vlad.
He then took full-credit for Russia’s alleged capture of Bakhmut, ignoring the role of the formal Russian army in the battle.
Chilling footage has also today emerged of Putin saying he can’t forgive betrayal.
When asked “are you able to forgive”, he responded: “Yes, but not everything.”
It was initially reported the bodies of four people had been found at the crash site.
About an hour later it was said another four had been found.
As time went on, claims grew in Moscow that a bomb may have brought down the plane.
One source said a consignment of “expensive wine” was loaded on board the aircraft minutes before takeoff.
And one theory is that a bomb was concealed in the wine packaging.
Earlier, sniffer dogs were used to check the aircraft – which was reduced to mere charred remains.
In one clip snapped by a witness of the plane plummeting to the ground, they could be heard commentating on the horror unfolding before their eyes.
One person could be heard saying: “A plane fell out of the sky. The pilot ejected, something is swirling in the air, do you see some part of it?
“It was flying fine, and exploded. Something is swirling in the air. The explosion was so strong…. and then it plunged and look, it’s burning…..”
Putin’s former lapdog staged an armed insurrection on June 23 with the stated aim to oust Russia’s military leaders as he turned on the top brass in Moscow.
However, the steaming rebellion was blown out after Prigozhin struck a bitter deal with Vladimir Putin putting an end to an astonishing 36-hours that saw Wagner forces reach within 125 miles of Moscow.
Progozhin had been thought to be living on borrowed time for weeks and was reported to have stayed in a hotel with no windows in neighbouring Belarus.
Ruthless warlord Prigozhin – who led an armed rebellion against Vladimir Putin in June – was estimated to be a billionaire with a huge yacht, and a private plane, among other luxuries.
British officials admited the vicious Wagner group’s finances were “opaque and obscure” – but have said Prigozhin was known to make his money from dodgy government contracts and natural resources.
It is understood Wagner Group plunders diamonds, gold, oil, and gas from countries in which they operate – as well as being paid directly by crooked regimes.
And on top of his other businesses, this had inflated Prigozhin’s wealth to extraordinary levels – with some estimates putting his personal fortune as much as £2billion.
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The flight path showed the jet’s final moments before it plummeted to the ground
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Meanwhile, Putin was seen publically celebrating the anniversary of victory in the Kursk battle in WWII
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Footage showed the mangled wreckage of the plane in a fiery heapCredit: East2West
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Smoke could be seen billowing into the sky after the smashCredit: East2West
Categories: Optical Illusion
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