In-depth analysis: Wagner chief Prigozhin presumed to have died in a plane crash • FRANCE 24

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Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and top officers of his private Wagner military company were presumed dead in a plane crash that was widely seen as an assassination, two months after they staged a mutiny that dented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority. Russia's civil aviation agency said that Prigozhin and six top lieutenants were on a business jet that crashed Wednesday, soon after taking off from Moscow, with a crew of three. Rescuers quickly found all 10 bodies, and Russian media cited sources in Prigozhin's Wagner company who confirmed his death. U.S. and other Western officials long expected Putin to go after Prigozhin, despite promising to drop charges in a deal that ended the June 23-24 mutiny. As leaders across the globe speculate on the origins of the plane crash, many are regarding the death of the Russian mercenary chief as the Kremlin's revenge for the foiled coup. For more in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on this unfolding story FRANCE 24's Tom Burges Watson, Douglas Herbert, Nick Holdsworth, and Emmanuelle Chaze are joined by Peter Zalmayev, Director of the Eurasian Democracy Initiative.