Russia’s Wagner boss Prigozhin killed in plane crash

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian private army, Wagner, has died in a plane crash.

Mr Prigozin’s private jet crashed Wednesday shortly after takeoff in Russia, BBC and Sky News reported.

Footage shared online showed the aircraft smashing into the ground soon after take-off.

Nine others on board also died, the reports said.

Mr Prigozhin’s death comes two months after he led a failed coup in Russia. Russia has confirmed that Mr Prigozin was on the crashed airplane.

The aircraft, an Embraer Legacy, was flying between Moscow and St Petersburg when it crashed.

Russia’s investigative committee has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Among the passengers on the plane was Dmitry Utkin, the commander and co-founder of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor. Utkin’s death has been confirmed by the Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone.