Russia Officially Confirms Prigozhin's Death... "DNA Match"

"10 Deceased Identified, Passenger List Matches"

Russian authorities have officially acknowledged the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, according to local media reports on the 27th (local time).

The Russian Federal Investigative Committee announced in the afternoon that "as part of the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region, genetic testing has been completed," and "the identities of the 10 deceased match the passenger list."

On November 11, 2011, Putin (front) visiting Prigozhin's restaurant and Prigozhin serving food [Photo by AP] [Image source=Yonhap News]

Amid persistent conspiracy theories doubting Prigozhin's death, Russian authorities have officially confirmed his death based on genetic analysis results.

On the evening of the 23rd, around 6 p.m., the Wagner Group's private plane, departing from Moscow and heading to the Wagner headquarters in Saint Petersburg, crashed about 300 km from Moscow. All 10 passengers on board were found dead.

Although Prigozhin was listed among the passengers, conspiracy theories arose suggesting that he was not on the crashed plane, and there were suspicions that President Putin was behind the incident as retaliation.

The crash occurred exactly two months after Prigozhin led the mercenary company Wagner Group in a failed military rebellion in June, and since the private plane had never experienced any mechanical issues before, strong suspicions of a "mysterious death" have been raised.

President Biden said shortly after news of Prigozhin's death was reported on the 23rd, "I don't know exactly what happened, but it wouldn't surprise me." When asked if President Putin was behind it, he replied, "There are not many things in Russia that Putin is not behind."

In response, Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, stated, "The speculations by Washington officials about what is happening in our country reflect a blatant disregard for diplomatic methods," adding, "The U.S. president is not in a position to speculate on the nature of such a tragic event."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.