Zelenskyy says Ukraine has ‘nothing to do’ with plane crash killing Wagner head

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said that his country was not involved in the plane crash in Russia’s northwestern Tver region that killed all 10 passengers, including Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Addressing a press conference with his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Souza in the capital Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had “nothing to do” with the incident, adding: “I think everyone is aware of who is involved,” Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne reported.

Late Wednesday, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said that an Embraer-135 aircraft crashed in Russia’s Tver region while traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, killing all 10 passengers onboard, including three crew members.

The agency later released a list of the names of individuals onboard the aircraft, among which included Prigozhin, Wagner co-founder Dmitry Utkin, and other Wagner personnel.

Investigations into the incident were launched by the agency, while Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement on Telegram that it initiated a criminal case on grounds of the "violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport."

Prigozhin made headlines in June when he launched an “armed rebellion” against the Russian leadership before quickly aborting after a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.