Crash with Wagner chief Prigozhin onboard: Zelenskyy says Kiev has nothing to do with incident

Emergency specialists carry a body bag near wreckages of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at the crash site in the Tver region, Russia. Picture: Kommersant Photo/Dmitry Lebedev via Reuters

Emergency specialists carry a body bag near wreckages of the private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at the crash site in the Tver region, Russia. Picture: Kommersant Photo/Dmitry Lebedev via Reuters

Published Aug 24, 2023

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Ukraine has nothing to do with a crash of a plane said to be carrying Wagner Group private military company (PMC) leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia’s Tver region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said that the Embraer Legacy private plane en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the Tver Region, killing all 10 people aboard. Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia said that Prigozhin was in the plane.

"We have nothing to do with this. Everyone understands who is involved," Zelenskyy told reporters, as quoted by the UNIAN news agency.

On Wednesday, investigators are on their way to the private plane crash site in Russia’s Tver Region to determine what caused the accident, the Investigative Committee said on Wednesday, adding that a criminal case has been initiated.

"On the fact of an aviation accident in the Tver region, the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport)," the committee said in a statement, adding that a group of investigators are on their way to the crash site to determine what caused the accident.

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