According to Russia’s civil aviation authorities, the head of Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of the plane that crashed, killing everyone on board.
The Embraer aircraft was reportedly shot down by air defenses in the Tver region, north of Moscow, according to the Telegram channel Grey Zone with connections to Wagner.
The jet was carrying three crew members as well as seven passengers as it flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
In June, Prigozhin was the leader of a failed uprising against the Russian military.
According to Grey Zone, there were two explosions and two vapour trails heard by nearby residents before to the accident.
According to the Tass news agency, the plane caught fire as soon as it touched down, and four bodies had already been discovered.
Less than 30 minutes had passed since the aircraft took to the air, it said.
