- Second plane had no connection to Wagner group, operator says

By News Team, Rush Hour Daily

Updated on August 26th, 2023

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The CEO of the aircraft operator company has stated that a second plane, which some Russian media have linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, has no affiliation with the mercenary group. The CEO of the company, Jetica LLC, confirmed to RushHourDaily that neither the plane nor its passengers have any connection to Wagner. The Russian media, particularly the Wagner group’s Telegram channel Grey Zone, had previously reported that the second plane with the tail number RA-02748 was in the air at the time of the crash. However, Jetica LLC has denied these claims. The CEO, Sergey Trifonov, emphasized that the plane had not been rented out and declined to disclose the owner’s identity. Flight tracking data shows that the RA-02748 was landing in St. Petersburg from Moscow when the crash occurred, and it returned to Moscow shortly after. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.