Accidents
Air-to-air Missile May Have Downed Prigozhin's Bizjet
Aviation security expert believes crash was no accident
Legacy 600 crash in Russia
Accident scene of the Embraer Legacy 600 crash in Russia's Tver region. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine others died in the August 23, 2023 crash. (Photo: Investigative Committee of Russia)

Aviation security consultant Eric Schouten of Dyami Strategic Security Services said his team has concluded that an air-to-air missile likely caused the August 23 crash of the Embraer Legacy 600 that killed Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and others from the Wagner Group. The Putin administration has denied suggestions that it was responsible for the killing of Prigozhin, who had recently launched a coup attempt after withdrawing his forces from the frontlines of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee has been instructed not to investigate the alleged accident, as would normally be the case under ICAO protocols. Instead, the Investigative Committee of Russia has begun what has been characterized as a criminal investigation.