Ukraine: Russian investigation confirms Yevgeny Prigozhin died in plane crash (2023)

crossSean Bell, military analyst and former fighter pilot.

President Zelenskyy announced in his evening address yesterday that two Ukrainian L-39 engines had crashed, killing all three pilots.

Among the pilots was Captain Andrew Pilshikov, also known as "Juice", a veteran fighter pilot who has given numerous interviews to the media, including Sky News' Deborah Haynes, who helps provide insight into the battle for the skies above. Ukraine.

Although a formal Ukrainian investigation will shed light on the incident, we do know that while a training mission was in progress (the training aircraft was equipped with ejection seats and operated by experienced pilots) a catastrophic accident occurred, resulting in the casualties of all three men. .

Speculation abounds about what happened on that deadly flight, including possible Russian involvement.

Although Ukraine is at war with Russia, the crash site is 90 miles west of kyiv, well outside Russian airspace.

If Russian missiles were involved, the pilots were warned that they could destroy the plane if the suspected missile hits its target, but some, if not all, pilots should be able to get to safety.

Another theory is that the two planes were flying in formation and were too close.

However, flying in close formation is a fundamental skill for pilots, and even when planes get too close and "crash" each other, their relative velocity is low despite their high speed.

This could cause a dent in the plane or worse, but it doesn't normally result in catastrophic failure of both planes.

The planes are most likely on combat training missions.

Since most of Ukraine's limited frontline aircraft are safely hidden and only used for mission-critical missions, pilots still need to be careful with currency and G-tolerance.

The L-39 trainer gives pilots the opportunity to hone their air combat skills and helps train the next generation of pilots by using experienced pilots to share their experiences.

These missions typically begin with the aircraft transitioning into safe airspace, and when both sides are ready, they fly two to three miles before turning to face each other to prepare for "combat."

You pass almost 1,000 miles per hour and "the race is on."

Both planes maneuver, trying to ensure that the other's missile or artillery solution (a dynamic 3D chess game) will operate the plane at the limit of its maneuverability until one of the pilots wins.

Although the rules required a minimum distance between the two aircraft, at these speeds events happened so fast that any miscalculation could have been catastrophic.

Note that witnesses reported that the planes separated and then merged again, which seems the most likely explanation for the total destruction of the trainer and the loss of all three pilots.

This is a very sad day for the families of the victims and a very significant loss for the Ukrainian Air Force, which lost irreplaceable experience that could have been the basis for the introduction of the modern F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine. foundation of the transition.

Members of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade held a send-off ceremony for the three pilots who died in a mid-air collision on Friday.

Captain Andrew Pilshikov (call sign "Juice"), Vyacheslav Minka, and Major Sergey Prokazin were killed in the collision over Zhytomyr.

A piano inscribed with the pilot's name was played and then set on fire in honor of the crew members.

"Since the first day of Russian aggression, they have defended Ukraine's airspace and have never been defeated in combat," the Ukraine Defense Register reads.let's say in x, formerly Twitter.

"Her inspiring bravery will always be remembered by a grateful nation."

A woman was killed and another was injured in a Russian shelling in the Cherson region, the prosecutor said.

"At 12:40 (10:40 UK time), the occupiers shelled the village of Tyaginsk in the Kherson region."read instructions。

“We now know that another civilian was injured and hospitalized. This information will be verified.

The Office also confirmed that legal proceedings had been launched to classify the bombing as a war crime, a common practice in bombing incidents on Ukrainian soil.

Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash this week, the Russian investigative committee confirmed after carrying out genetic tests.

Now we can present to you the opinion of the Committee, which was sent to us by spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko...

While the Russian investigative committee has confirmed that all ten people listed on the plane's manifest died in the crash, it has not provided details on the underlying causes of the plane crash.

Sky News searched, reviewed and investigated several different videos of the plane crash and exposed what they tell us.

former pilot and military analystSean BellThis analysis was created...

1. Missile attack

One of the images, which showed "swirling clouds," did not compare well with the others, Bell said.

Drawing on his own experience flying fighter jets, he explained that when a surface-to-air missile hits a plane, "you would see these contrails in the final stages of their approach."

"Therefore, it could be an explosion or a surface-to-air missile system," he said.

However, US officials said there was no information that a surface-to-air missile hit the plane.

Preliminary US intelligence determined that the accident was intentionally caused by an explosion.

2. The plane "smokes" when it crashes

Bell highlighted a plume of smoke that appeared to rise from the plane's wreckage about halfway up.

He said it was "almost certainly not smoke" and probably "fuel emissions."

"The numbers were huge and the plane suffered a lot of damage," he added.

3 and 4. Missing air wing or horizontal tail and remains of the bottom.

Images of the plane close to the ground appeared to show that it was not missing a wing or a tail, which would explain why it "landed vertically, like a falling leaf."

A fourth point Bell made was that other images from the crash site showed the tail fin "at some distance" from the main body of the plane.

"Taken together... there are many reasons why this happened, but it was not a natural accident," Bell explained. "There was disaster in the air... There were rumors that a crate of wine (with a bomb inside) had been brought on board at the last minute.

"The problem with that theory is that usually an [explosion] inside the plane will blow it up... and a surface-to-air missile system or an air-to-air missile system will usually try to find that." More interesting plane, more interesting. Important part.

"That would explain why the wing could have been torn off. When that happened, the fate of the plane was decided."

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has claimed that Russia has lost 260,820 soldiers in Ukraine since the invasion in late February 2022.

The figures, which have not been confirmed, stand in stark contrast to losses reported by Russia itself.

The General Staff also said in its update that since the invasion 18 months ago, Russia has lost:

• 4.396 Panzer
• 8,554 armored fighting vehicles
• 7,823 other vehicles
• 5,403 Artillery systems
• missile system 728
• 498 air defense systems
• 315 aircraft
• 316 helicopters
• 4.378 drones
• 18 ships

we bring you the wordsMilitary analyst Sean BellThe Russian investigative committee said it had confirmed the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash on Wednesday when responding to the news.

He is skeptical about trust in the commission of inquiry, which could draw preemptive conclusions about President Putin's leadership.

“The point is that this is an investigation launched by the Kremlin, who is widely believed to be responsible for the downing of the plane. So we have to be a bit skeptical about the approach here,” he stated.

"It seems that they wrote their conclusions before conducting the investigation."

Initially, the committee did not present evidence, and Bell said Putin might be interested in presenting evidence if he was involved in any way in the death. However, this has not been confirmed.

"It will be interesting to see if this 'evidence' turns out to be true, as widespread speculation that Yevgeny Prigozhin is alive and safe somewhere has been confirmed."

According to our previous article, the Russian Investigative Committee has confirmed the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The commission also said nine other people died on the plane along with Wagner's boss.

Therefore, after genetic testing, Russia confirmed the following 10 deaths:

• Sergey Propstin
• Eugeni Makarian
• Alejandro Totmin
• Valery Chkalov
• Dmitri Utkin
• Nikolay Matuev
• Yevgeny Prigoschin
• Commander Alexei Levshin
• Copilot Rustam Karimov
• Hostess Cristina Raspopova

Again, it is important to note that this has not been verified by any outside agency.

The Russian investigative committee has confirmed that ten people died aboard the crashed plane, named by Russia's Aviation Committee after what it called a genetic test.

Among them was the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"In the framework of the criminal investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular genetic tests were carried out."read instructions。

"Their results have identified the ten people who died and match those listed on the flight manifest."

Details of the test were not released nor was Prigozhin's death independently confirmed.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has released footage of a kyiv suburb hit by a cruise missile overnight.

Officials previously confirmed that four cruise missiles fired at the capital had been shot down (see 7:21 a.m. post), before updating that two people were injured and some buildings damaged (see 8:21 a.m. post).

"Two cars and a hangar with agricultural machinery were damaged," the ministry said.say in the telegram。

"In one of the courtyards a 1.5 m deep hole was found in the ground due to falling debris."