INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Did Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin fake his death and secretly escape in a second plane? Even if he was onboard, how did the
plane really crash? Was there a bomb planted onboard or did Russian forces shoot it down from the sky? The plane crash on Wednesday, in
which Russian mercenary chief and his top officers are presumed dead, has left us with more questions than answers
So far, the Wagner chief, who had staged a short-lived coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin, is presumed dead in the crash
authority.Moreover, such assassinations of Putin's critics are not uncommon in Russia
But the sheer mystery surrounding the jet crash, which took place north of Moscow on Wednesday, has sparked several rumours
First, here's what happened exactly Prigozhin and six top lieutenants were listed as passengers on a business jet that crashed Wednesday,
soon after taking off from Moscow.The jet also had a crew of three
Rescuers quickly found all 10 bodies, and Russian media cited sources in Prigozhin's Wagner company who confirmed his death.02:34Who is
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Group head Russia has accused of planning a coup?Police cordoned off the field where the plane crashed as
investigators studied the site
Vehicles were seen driving in to take the bodies, reportedly badly charred, for a forensic exam.Videos shared by the pro-Wagner Telegram
channel Grey Zone showed a plane dropping like a stone from a large cloud of smoke, twisting wildly as it fell
Tracking data available for the crashed plane appears to show it rise to around 29,000ft, before suddenly disappearing and dropping to
0ft.Such freefalls can occur when an aircraft sustains severe damage, and a frame-by-frame AP analysis of two videos was consistent with
some sort of explosion mid-flight
The images appeared to show the plane was missing a wing.Was Prigozhin really in the plane?Russian authorities have said that the Wagner
boss boarded the flight, though there has been no absolute confirmation of his death.Yet, frenzied speculation also suggests Prigozhin may
have faked his own death after a second aircraft, with links to Wagner, was seen on flight radar zigzagging over the same Tzer region, 60
miles north of the capital.Soon after the plane crashed, the second plane turned back to Moscow, flight tracking data showed, and later
landed.In case this is true, it won't be the first time Prigozhin had succeeded in disappearing: he was officially declared dead in Africa
in 2019, before re-emerging before Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.Moreover, sources close to him said that while the aircraft belonged
to him, he usually flew on another plane.Keir Giles, from the London-based think tank Chatham House, warned that even though a passenger by
the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board - it is also known that multiple individuals have changed their name to Yevgeny Prigozhin, as
part of his efforts to obfuscate his travels, Daily Mail reported.Bombs smuggled in fine wine crate?Meanwhile, Prigozhin supporters claimed
on pro-Wagner messaging app channels that the plane was deliberately downed, including suggesting it could have been hit by an air defence
missile or targeted by a bomb on board
Russian social media channels are also awash with speculation that a case of fine wine onboard may in fact have been a bomb in
disguise.Security sources said they expect the Kremlin to attribute the crash to a bomb placed on board the aircraft by Ukrainian special
However, it is considered far more likely that Prigozhin's jet was targeted by the Russian government, either by using a surface-to-air
missile or planting a bomb onboard.'Putin never forgives'While the news of the jet crash has raised some concerns, not everyone is surprised
that it actually happened
Numerous opponents and critics of Putin have been killed or gravely sickened in apparent assassination attempts.Abbas Gallyamov, a former
Putin speech writer turned critic whom the Russian authorities have branded a "foreign agent", suggested the Russian leader, who is expected
to run for another term in office next year, was behind the crash and had strengthened his authority in the process."The establishment is
now convinced that it will not be possible to oppose Putin," Gallyamov wrote on Telegram
"Putin is strong enough and capable of revenge."Bill Browder, a businessman with years of experience in Russia and another Kremlin critic,
agreed."Putin never forgives and never forgets
He looked like a humiliated weakling with Prigozhin running around without a care in the world (after the mutiny)
This will cement his authority," Browder wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia
mutiny to painlessly complete the dismantling of Wagner in Russia, but was never forgiven by Putin.Reacting to reports of the plane crash,
US President Joe Biden also said that he is "not surprised"
Russia's top army brass on June 23-24 which Putin said could have tipped Russia into civil war
Wagner fighters shot down Russian attack helicopters during the revolt, killing an unconfirmed number of pilots, infuriating the military.He
has also spent months criticising Russia's war in Ukraine, something Moscow calls a "special military operation", and had tried to topple
defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff.Many Russians had wondered how he was able to get away
with such brazen criticism without consequence.The mutiny was ended by an apparent Kremlin deal which saw Prigozhin agree to relocate to
But in practice he had appeared to move freely inside Russia after the agreement which had reportedly guaranteed his personal safety.(With
inputs from agencies)WatchWagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin who rebelled against Russian President Putin presumed dead in a Moscow plane crash
