On August 23rd, a private jet belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Chief of Wagner Group and a leading Russian mercenary leader, crashed allegedly killing all aboard.
The Embraer 135, with Prigozhin and his associates aboard, was headed from Moscow to St. Petersburg when the plane suddenly stopped transmitting air traffic control signals. With no survivors out of the 10 people on the plane, all of the bodies have now been recovered and identified.
Among the deceased was Kristina Raspopova, the only woman on board the plane, who posted a photo of her last meal on social media prior to boarding the doomed flight. Raspopova had mentioned to her family members that the flight was delayed due to technical inspections and mysterious repairs.
What had caused the plane to crash remains a mystery, with US Officials claiming that is was likely a surface-to-air missile that impacted the plane, while independent Russian outlets argued that a bomb was likely placed on board. Russian outlet Baza have brought to light the schematics of the plane, drawing attention to a service compartment near the bathroom in the tail section of the aircraft where a bomb may have been placed.
There is much speculation that Prigozhin’s involvement with the mutiny in June against Russia’s Armed Forces, could add to the possibility of a retaliatory action.
Newsweek noted that Raspopova is the sister of a Russian official in the town of Yemanzhelinsk and that she grew up in Moscow. However, the publication mentioned that they are relying on Russia news outlets and could not “independently verify the details.
From Newsweek:
One Russian media report from Baza, an anonymous Telegram channel allegedly linked to Russia’s security services, said that Raspopova is the sister of a Russian official in the town of Yemanzhelinsk, not far from Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. There is conflicting information as to where Raspopova was born but several reports say she grew up in Moscow and had spent the last few years living in St. Petersburg. However, Russian website 74.RU reported that she was born in Kazakhstan.
