A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has found that the plane crash presumed to have killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has commented on the incident, noting the pattern of deaths and dubious suicides in Putin's Russia. President Joe Biden had previously commented on the incident, saying he was not surprised and that there is not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind.
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On Wednesday, a plane crash north of Moscow killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and all 10 people on board, raising suspicions as Prigozhin had led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year. Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a top general linked to Prigozhin, was dismissed from his position as commander of the air force and has not been seen in public since the mutiny. The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation and it is unclear if Prigozhin’s death will be confirmed or if the crash was related to the mutiny.
On Wednesday evening, a private Embraer Legacy aircraft crashed in Russia's Tver region, killing all 10 people on board. The plane was registered to Wagner, a mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, and had taken off from Moscow earlier in the evening. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Services has launched an investigation into the crash, and Russian state media has reported that Prigozhin was among the passengers on board.
India has become the fourth nation to successfully land an operational spacecraft on the moon, and the first to reach the south polar region. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was able to make history by becoming the first country to reach the lunar south pole, with the Chandrayaan-3 lander heavily instrumented and carrying a small rover. The successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 has been celebrated in India, boosting the country's space program to the level of "space superpower."
Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been dismissed from his post as head of the country’s Aerospace Forces, following speculation about his involvement with the Wagner mercenary rebellion. Colonel General Viktor Afzalov is now temporarily acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, as Russia seeks to modernize its armed forces. It is unclear what role, if any, Surovikin will have in the future.
NASA is preparing for the launch of Crew-7 on Friday, while Russia's attempt to return to the moon has failed. On Tuesday, Russia launched a Progress cargo ship to the International Space Station, two-and-a-half days before the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to take off with four crew members. Despite the setback, NASA and SpaceX are still committed to their mission and are looking forward to the launch of Crew-7.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military contractor, has released a video of himself in military fatigues and holding a rifle, hinting at his location in Africa. The video appears to be a recruitment drive for the Wagner Group, and the exact whereabouts of Prigozhin remain unknown. The Wagner Group has been linked to the Kremlin and has been active in Syria, Ukraine, and other countries, and Prigozhin has been sanctioned by the U.S.
Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon on Saturday after a thruster firing went awry, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The spacecraft spun into an uncontrolled orbit and eventually collided with the lunar surface, resulting in the loss of contact with the Luna-25. Despite the setback, Roscosmos remains committed to its lunar exploration program and will continue to work towards its goals.