MERCENARY leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year, is presumed dead after a plane crash north of Moscow that killed all 10 people on board.

Russian civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia confirmed that Mr Prigozhin was on board the aircraft when it went down on Wednesday.

The crash immediately raised suspicions of foul play, since the fate of the founder of the Wagner private military company has been the subject of intense speculation ever since the aborted mutiny.

At the time, President Vladimir Putin denounced the rebellion as “treason” and a “stab in the back” and vowed to punish those involved, although the charges against Mr Prigozhin were soon dropped. 

The Wagner leader — whose troops have been at the forefront of the fighting in Ukraine — was allowed to retreat to Belarus, while reportedly popping up in Russia from time to time.

The crash also follows Russian media reports that a top general linked to Mr Prigozhin had been dismissed from his post as commander of the air force.

The plane, carrying seven passengers and three crew, was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg when it went down 185 miles north of the capital, according to officials cited by state news agency Tass.

Mr Putin did not immediately comment, but expressed “condolences” yesterday evening, saying Prigozhin was a “talented businessman” who “made mistakes.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists in Kiev that “we are not involved in this situation, that’s for sure.”

He added: “I think everyone is aware of who is involved,” without elaborating.

“I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” said US President Joe Biden.

No cause of the crash has yet been given.

Videos shared by pro-Wagner Telegram channel Grey Zone (not to be confused with the independent news site The Grayzone) showed a plane dropping like a stone from a large cloud of smoke, twisting wildly as it fell. The aircraft appeared to be missing a wing.

Russia’s Investigative Committee opened an investigation into the crash on charges of violating air safety rules, as is typical when it begins such probes. 

The Interfax news agency, citing emergency officials, reported early today that all 10 bodies had been recovered from the crash site and that the search operation had ended.