MOSCOW — Officials in Russia said Sunday morning that DNA testing confirmed that Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was in the plane that crashed last week, according to The New York Times.
Prigozhin was believed to have died in the plane crash that happened on Wednesday, the Times reported. It happened two months after Prigozhin tried to launch a mutiny against the Russian military but failed.
U.S. and Western officials believe the crash was due to an explosion on board the plane but Russian officials say they are still waiting for the results of their own investigation. The Times reported that Russia is waiting to confirm the identities of others on board until the cause of the plane crash is determined.
[ Prigozhin plane crash: Kremlin denies role in crash ]
Russia’s Investigative Committee Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press that forensic and genetic testing helped investigators to identify all 10 bodies that were recovered from the crash. Petrenko confirmed Prigozhin was on board the plane but did not elaborate on the cause of the crash.
Earlier in the week, Russia’s civil aviation authorities said Prigozhin and some of his top Wagner lieutenants were listed on the passenger and crew list, the AP reported. Seven passengers and three crew members were killed when the crash happened from Moscow heading to St. Petersburg.
[ Yevgeny Prigozhin: What to know about the Wagner Group founder ]
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not confirm Prigozhin’s death on Thursday when he spoke about the crash, according to the Times. However, when referring to him, Putin spoke in the past tense.
“He made some serious mistakes in life, but he also achieved necessary results,” Putin said, according to the newspaper.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment found that the explosion that caused the crash was intentional, the AP reported.