In Moscow, Mourners Cry at a Makeshift Wagner Memorial.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Hundreds of people have placed flowers and other tributes on a sidewalk near Red Square in Moscow.

Tearful mourners gathered in Moscow over the weekend to pay muted respect to the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, and nine other people whom the Russian authorities said were killed in a plane crash last week.

Hundreds of people have placed flowers, photographs, candles and flags — including some bearing the private military group’s skull design — at a small sidewalk memorial near Red Square in Moscow.

Many wept openly, expressing shock over the death of a man they said they respected, and sadness at the loss of life. Almost all expressed their support for the invasion of Ukraine. » | Valerie Hopkins reporting from Moscow | Sunday, August 27, 2023

Wagner boss Prigozhin confirmed dead in plane crash – Moscow: Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been confirmed dead after genetic analysis of bodies found in Wednesday's plane crash, Russian officials say. »

Putin and Wagner boss Prigozhin: How a long friendship turned ugly: Theirs was a relationship borne out of the murky world where Russia's state security services mingled with the criminal underworld. »

Yevgeny Prigozhin, Renegade Mercenary Chief Who Rattled Kremlin

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A tycoon and a Putin ally, he built a paramilitary force that fought by Russia’s side even as he castigated its military leaders. He is believed dead at 62 in a plane crash.

A screengrab from a video provided by Concord Press Service, Mr. Prigozhin’s information agency, showing him at a cemetery for Wagner fighters in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region in April. | Concord Press Service
Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the outspoken tycoon who built a private paramilitary force that fought on Russia’s behalf in Ukraine and Africa but whose harsh judgment of its army leadership led him to instigate a rebellion, was widely believed to be dead on Thursday, a day after a plane in which he was said to be traveling crashed in Russia. He was 62.

Although his death has not been officially declared by the Russian authorities or confirmed by family members or business associates, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia spoke of Mr. Prigozhin in the past tense on Thursday and offered condolences to the families of the crash’s 10 victims. And Pentagon officials for the first time openly said they believe that Mr. Prigozhin did not survive the crash, in which all on board were killed. His name was on the passenger list.

Mr. Prigozhin had long leveraged a close relationship with the Kremlin to gain lucrative government construction and catering contracts, and he built up the paramilitary force, known as Wagner, in close cooperation with Russia’s military intelligence services.

For years he kept a low public profile. Even as Wagner conducted operations on Moscow’s behalf in Syria and in several African countries, he denied any affiliation. » | Valerie Hopkins, Reporting from Moscow | Friday, August 25, 2023

Yevgeny Prigozhin obituary: Multimillionaire Russian businessman and head of the Wagner mercenary army that played a key role in the war in Ukraine »

What Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Presumed Death Means for Ukraine – BBC News

Aug 25, 2023 | Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed to have died in a plane crash near Moscow, which killed all 10 people on board - and while his death has yet to be officially confirmed, Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid tribute to his former ally.

The mercenary group has been active on the battlefields of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, and Volodymyr Havrylov, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine told the BBC that Prigozhin’s death could have an impact on the “confidence and morale” of Wagner troops – particularly among the lower ranks.

Meanwhile, the UK defence ministry has said that although there is “no definite proof” that Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board the plane which crashed, it “is highly likely that he is indeed dead”.

Yevgeny Prigozhin Killed in Plane Crash Near Moscow - Live Updates

Yevgeny Prigozhin
THE TELEGRAPH: Yevgeny Prigozhin has been killed in a private jet crash in the Tver region north of Moscow, Russian agencies have reported.

The Wagner mercenary boss was on board the aircraft when it crashed killing all 10 passengers, authorities have said. » | The Telegraph | Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Guerre en Ukraine en direct : Evgueni Prigojine était sur la liste de passagers d’un avion qui s’est écrasé au nord de Moscou, selon l’aviation civile russe : L’annonce a été faite par l’agence fédérale de transport aérien, et relayée par l’agence de presse russe TASS. « Selon la liste des passagers, parmi eux se trouvent le nom et le prénom d’Evgueni Prigojine », a indiqué l’agence fédérale. »

Zehn Tote bei Flugzeugabsturz in Russland – Wagner-Chef Prigoschin soll auf Passagierliste stehen: Das Privat-Flugzeug soll der Wagner-Gruppe von Jewgenij Prigoschin gehören. Bei dem Absturz sollen zehn Personen ums Leben gekommen sein. »

Is Vladimir Putin’s Power Coming to an End? | 60 Minutes Australia

Jul 2, 2023 | For 24 years there was no dispute about who was the boss in Russia. Vladimir Putin seemed to proudly wear the label of the world’s most feared strongman. But last weekend, all of sudden, his iron rule was challenged. Putin stumbled and for the first time appeared weak and vulnerable.

The man threatening to topple the Russian tyrant was Yevgeny Prigozhin, arguably an even nastier piece of work than Putin himself. As the head of the Wagner group, he controls the brutal mercenaries who have been fighting alongside Russian forces in the illegal war against Ukraine. Tom Steinfort reports that what worries the world now is figuring out what Prigozhin’s next move could be. And where.

Wagner Forces Halt Advance on Moscow after Calls for Rebellion – BBC News

Jun 24, 2023 | Wagner mercenaries have halted their advance on Moscow, after claiming to get within 200km of the Russian capital. Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has put out a voice note on his Telegram channel saying he has agreed to stop “to avoid bloodshed”, and it comes after talks between Prigozhin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who is understood to have been involved in “de-escalating” the situation. But, after President Putin’s televised statement, in which he described the day’s events as “a knife in the back of our people”, it is unclear what the future holds for Prigozhin and Wagner, who have been a key part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

What’s happening in Russia? Here’s what we know.: A powerful mercenary chief sent his forces on the move against the Russian military establishment, raising tensions in the country to a level not seen in decades. »

Putin embraced turmoil, and now it is rattling his leadership.: For more than two decades, the system helped President Vladimir V. Putin secure his unrivaled authority, ensuring that he personally held the keys to wealth and influence in modern Russia. »