Seven Wagner members and three crew members have been killed in the crash.
Yevgeny Prigozhin
The person who established the mercenary group Wagner lived a humble life in his childhood. Yevgeny Prigozhin lost his father at a younger age, he turned to small crimes like burglary. He was sentenced to 12 years of jail in 1981 after being convicted of robbery and fraud.
After he was pardoned and released from prison in 1990, he started selling hot dogs at a flea market in Leningrad with his mother and stepfather. He got a catering contract from the Kremlin, came close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was known as the ‘Putin’s Chef’. Later he set up the mercenary group Wagner.
Dmitry Utkin
Dmitry Utkin was very close to Prighozin and he helped him set up Wagner Group. He was fascinated by Adolf Hitler and got his body tattooed with Nazi symbols. He has been accused of committing many crimes in Syria.
Sergei Propustin
He was a Wagner fighter, too much is not known about him.
Yevgeny Makaryan
Yevgeny Makaryan was a Wagner fighter, he was included on the controversial Ukrainian Myrotvorets website. He fought in Syria and survived a clash with U.S. planes.
Alexander Totmin
Alexander Totmin was a Wagner fighter and one of Prigozhin’s guards.
Valery Chekalov
Valery Chekalov was a deputy of Prighozin and was responsible for all the logistics of the Wagner Group. He was responsible for securing weapons, managing the mercenaries, and running the oil, gas, and mineral businesses in Syria and Africa. The U.S. has put sanctions on him.
Nikolai Matuseyev
Nikolai Matuseyev was a Wagner Group fighter.
Kristina Raspopova
A crew member of the unfortunate flight, Kristina Raspopova was a flight attendant and the only woman to be killed in the crash. Alexei Levshin and Rustam Karimov were the pilot and co-pilot of the ill-fated flight.
FAQs:
Q1. Who was Valery Chekalov?
A1. Valery Chekalov was one of the very close confidantes of Prighozin. He was the person who managed the mercenaries, and weapons and looked after the oil, gas, and mineral businesses in Africa and Syria.
Q2. Who was the only woman killed in the crash?
A2. Kristina Raspopova was the only woman killed in the crash. She was a flight attendant on the flight.
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