Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a jet which crashed killing all on board, Russia’s civil aviation authority has said.
Earlier, Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone reported the Embraer aircraft was shot down by air defences in the Tver region, north of Moscow.
The jet, which was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg, was carrying seven passengers and three crew.
Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian armed forces in June.
Grey Zone said local residents heard two bangs before the crash and saw two vapour trails.
Tass news agency said the plane caught fire on hitting the ground, adding that four bodies had already been found.
The aircraft had been in the air for less than half an hour, it said.
Summary
- Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the list of passengers on an aircraft that crashed in the Tver Region, Russian authorities say
- The Russian Emergencies Ministry has said that private aircraft “came down” near the village of Kuzhenkino – and all were killed
- The ministry says the jet was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg, and that 10 people, including three crew members, were on board
- Prigozhin has been keeping a low public profile since heading his short-lived mutiny in June, which lasted only 24 hours
- He last appearing in a video earlier this week which was said to have been filmed in an unspecified location in Africa