Yevgeny Prigozhin’s reported death may consolidate Putin’s power

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NUS School of Computing - Analytics from Data to Insights Programme

BILL BURNS, the director of the CIA, recently mused on what fate might await Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader who mounted a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, “is generally someone who thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold,” he said. “In my experience Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution.” On August 23rd, precisely two months after that mutiny, Mr Prigozhin’s jet plunged to the ground.

The cause of the crash is not yet known. Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions prior to the incident, giving rise to speculation that it may have been shot down by air defences. One possibility, though few online commenters seemed inclined to believe it, is that it was an accident. Ukraine has conducted 15 drone attacks against Moscow and the surrounding area since May 3rd, including strikes on seven successive nights to August 23rd. Local air-defences may thus have been jumpy; in 2020 Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner in Tehran during a period of high alert. It is unlikely, though, that Russian radar operators would confuse a jet for a drone: drones are slower, smaller and lower.

A senior source in Ukrainian intelligence said several figures in Russia were enraged enough to want Mr Prigozhin dead, including Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, a frequent target of Mr Prigozhin’s irate video messages over the summer. Nonetheless, an operation of this sort could not have gone ahead without authorisation from Vladimir Putin himself. “I don’t know for a fact what happened but I’m not surprised,” said Joe Biden, America’s president. “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.” Mr Burns was not the only spymaster to have seen trouble coming Mr Prigozhin’s way. In an interview in June, Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of HUR (Ukraine’s military spy agency), claimed the FSB, Russia’s security service, had been tasked to assassinate the mutineer.

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Executive jet reportedly carrying Prigozhin that crashed had good safety record

MOSCOW – The Embraer executive jet that crashed in Russia, apparently with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin onboard, has recorded only one accident in over 20 years of service, and that was due to mistakes by the crew rather than mechanical failure, according to website International Aviation HQ.

The Russian authorities said Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet that crashed on Wednesday evening, killing all those onboard. Russia’s Tass news agency said the plane was from Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.

Embraer on Wednesday said it was aware of a Legacy 600 plane crash in Russia, but it did not have further information about the case.

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Top Russian general who vanished after Wagner rebellion fired as head of aerospace forces | CNN

A top Russian general who went missing after the mercenary group Wagner's insurrection in June has been fired from his role as head of the country's aerospace forces, Russian state media reported Wednesday citing unnamed sources.

Gen. Sergey Surovikin has spent four decades as part of the Russian military, including a brief stint running Russia's war effort in Ukraine.

He was put in charge of the conflict in October 2022, shortly after a major explosion severely damaged the Kerch bridge connecting the annexed Crimean Peninsula to mainland Russia. Surovikin was removed from that post just months later.

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