Prigozhin Death Could Have 'Catastrophic Consequences' for Putin's Military

The death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin could have "catastrophic consequences" for the Russian army, as confirmation awaits regarding reports of his demise.

"The assassination of Prigozhin would have catastrophic consequences. The people who gave the order do not understand the mood in the army and the morale at all," Russian war journalist Roman Saponkov wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. The message was reposted by the Gray Zone Telegram channel, a page linked to the Wagner mercenary group and its soldiers.

The remarks by Saponkov come shortly after reports that Prigozhin was aboard a private jet that crashed in the Russian region of Tver on Wednesday.

"An investigation into the Embraer plane crash that occurred in the Tver Region this evening has been launched. According to the passenger list, the first and last name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in this list," the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations or internationally (EMERCOM) said, according to state-run media outlet, Tass.

According to Tass, all 10 people who were listed on board the plane died. There has been no further confirmation from the Kremlin or the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The plane was traveling from the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow to St. Petersburg, Tass reported.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, posted a video that appeared to show the plane Prigozhin was on falling out of the sky. Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the video.

"A video appeared, which allegedly shows the moment of the crash of Prigozhin's plane," Gerashchenko wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

While the specific "consequences" mentioned by Saponkov are unclear, the Guardian reported on Wednesday that some Wagner soldiers have recently decided to leave Belarus and travel to Africa, where Prigozhin was believed to be seen in a video this week.

In another post to X, Gerashchenko wrote, "Wagner PMC mercenaries are going to take revenge on Putin and Shoigu for the death of their leader. Calls for revenge against the killers fill the chat rooms of Prigozhin's channels. Law enforcers of two regions have been raised on alert."

Responding to reports of Prigozhin's death, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on X, "If confirmed, no one should be surprised."

U.S. President Joe Biden also responded to reports telling CNN, "There's not much that happens in Russia that Putin's not behind. But I don't know enough to know the answer."

In the early stages of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Prigozhin was seen as a prominent figure and ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he was recently critical of some Russian officials and staged a mutiny in June, prompting backlash from the Kremlin.

Prigozhin reached a deal with Russian officials shortly after the Wagner rebellion and was ordered to leave Russia to stay in Belarus. Soldiers of the Wagner Mercenary group were told they could either join the Russian Defence Ministry or follow Prigozhin into exile.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

Update: 08/23/23, 5:35 p.m. EST. This article has been updated with additional information.