Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of a Russian mercenary group who led a mutiny against the country’s military leaders earlier this year, was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed near Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.
TASS reported that the plane crashed in the Tver region, about 100 miles northwest of Moscow killing all 10 people on board, including seven passengers and three pilots. The jet reportedly belonged to Prigozhin.
It was not clear if Prigozhin was among those on board, though Russia’s civilian aviation regulator, Rosaviatsia, said he was on the passenger list, according to the Associated Press.
The Wagner group played a key role in helping to capture the eastern Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut during Russia’s invasion of the country. Prigozhin has long criticized the Russian military amid several failures in Ukraine.
In June, he led an aborted mutiny against Russia’s top military officials. Prigozhin was later exiled to Belarus, but his plane has been traveling back and forth between Russia and Belarus, AP reported.
