Ukraine's Defense Intelligence says it is not 100% sure of Prigozhin's death

This was stated by the representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) Andriy Yusov in an interview with Ukrinform.

"At the moment, we can talk about the confirmed death of Utkin and some other passengers. As for Prygozhyn, let's just say that not all questions have been resolved yet," he said.

At the same time, Yusov did not go into details. He emphasized, however, that he was simply focusing on the fact that the GUR could confirm the deaths of Utkin and several other associates of Prigozhin.

"As for the PMC leader himself, I think we need to wait some more time," the Ukrainian intelligence official emphasized.

Details regarding Prigozhin’s plane crash

On August 23, a business jet belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin, an Embraer aircraft, crashed in Russia's Tver region, resulting in the confirmed deaths of 10 individuals. Among the passengers was Dmitry Utkin, a key figure in Wagner PMC. 

Subsequently, the Institute for the Study of War suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin might have ordered the assassination of Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to reassert dominance and seek revenge.

One version from Russian media indicated that an explosive device was planted in the landing gear of the plane carrying Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. This device would have detonated at a specific moment, leading to wing and stabilizer detachment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine was not involved in the plane's downing and made light of the situation by joking that such "aircraft assistance" wasn't what Ukraine had asked for.

The US officials suggest that the aircraft, carrying passengers linked to Wagner PMC leadership, was likely shot down by a missile from Russian territory.

On August 29, the leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was buried in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the funeral was held behind closed doors.