The results of a Russian investigation into the aircraft crash last week confirmed that Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, was onboard and killed.
Russian officials shared the news in a statement on Sunday, noting that the DNA results examined from the remains of those who died in the crash matched the list of people who were reportedly on the flight.
Earlier this summer, Prigozhin led a rebellion against Russian military leaders, marching on Moscow before ending the rebellion on the same day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the crash on Friday but did not confirm Prigozhin’s death, making Sunday’s statement the first confirmation from the government.
Other’s on board the private flight with Prigozhin were his right-hand man, Dmitry Utkin, and his chief of security, Valery Chekalov.
After the crash on Wednesday Putin acknowledged the work that Prigozhin had in achieving Russia’s goals against Ukraine, but also said that “He made serious mistakes in his life.”
The U.S. refused to comment when asked whether or not they believed Prigozhin was intentionally killed, only saying that they did believe he died.
“Our initial assessment, based on a variety of factors, is that he was likely killed,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said last week.
Prigozhin had been increasingly critical of several top Kremlin officials in social media posts, even going as far as to call out the Kremlin’s reasoning for invading Ukraine.
After the aborted rebelion, Prigozhin was exiled to Belarus in exchange for Putin dropping terrorism charges against the mercenary chief. Since the deal, Russia has been working to dismantle the Wagner Group.
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