Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner says Prigozhin is dead

PHOTO CAPTION: Firefighters work amid aircraft wreckage at an accident scene following the crash of a private jet in the Tver region, Russia, August 23, 2023. Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, was reportedly listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed north of Moscow on August 23, 2023. Investigative Committee of Russia/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead, a Telegram channel affiliated with his Wagner mercenary group reported on Wednesday.

"The head of the Wagner Group, a Hero of Russia, a true patriot of his Motherland – Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin died as a result of the actions of traitors to Russia," a post in the Grey Zone channel said.

"But even in Hell, he will be the best! Glory to Russia!"

Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, the Russian authorities said.



(Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)