Yevgeny Prigozhin, the well-known private mercenary leader for the Wagner Group is presumed dead. Earlier today while on a flight on one of his private planes, it was videoed falling out of the sky and crashing in Russia. Details are not yet known but the video and flight path show the plane at about 28,000 ft. when it just stalls and plummets down to earth. There has been some postulation that it was missing one of its wings when it fell out of the sky. However, there is no confirmation of a missile i.e. a trail hitting the plane. Russian sources are claiming the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.
Prigozhin was the leader of the infamous Wagner Mercenary Group operating directly under Putin’s approval. The Wagner Group has been speculated to have approximately 25,000 mercenaries a reputable number. He had come into prominence after having been Putin’s chef! Later have was rewarded for his loyalties creating a business partnership of sorts and opening several restaurants in the Moscow and Petersburg areas where both Prigozhin and Putin are from. Being friends with Putin and having his trust Prigozhin somehow later became the mercenary leader for the Wagner Group receiving funding to wage war not directly under the Russian flag, but full support from the Kremlin in any case. He was instrumental in the Syrian conflict where thousands of Syrian civilians and children died. That war waged mostly waged on civilians has all but been forgotten. The Trump administration did take punitive action once but when Trump coordinated a missile strike on a Syrian Air Force Base after confirmed use of chemical munitions on civilians. It is reported that Trump called Putin and Iran with a warning the base would be bombed a half-hour before it happened. That was to give the Russians and Iranians plenty of warning to scatter their fighter jets before the strike. There were 59 Tomahawk missiles launched at the air base. Photographs after the missile strike showed very little damage done to the airfield or other aircraft at the base. At a cost of approximately $2 million per missile that was an expensive favor he gave both the Russians and the Iranians at the cost of the American public. Prigozhin was heading the mercenary group and there had been US casualties during the same period. The Wagner boss had been conducting operations in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Ethiopia, Mali, and over the last 18 months Ukraine.
Recently the Kremlin held a get-together for the African countries and even though Putin had criticized Prigozhin and labeled him as a traitor interesting that he was at the summit greeting ole African warlords and dictators. Putin needed his Prigozhin’s support until the time came when he could eliminate any speculation who’s charge. He re-consolidated his authority in the Kremlin, has got rid of any suspected Prigozhin followers. The Wagner boss lost Putin’s favor when he conducted an embarrassing and symbolic march towards Moscow in June.