Ukrainian Independence Day And Prigozhin Killed In Plane Crash
Many suspect the FSB were behind the plane crash where key members of the Wagner Group were killed
The 32nd Ukrainian Independence Day was marked on 24 August 2023, but it was overshadowed by a number of events. The day before (23 August) Yevgeny Prigozhin and other key Wagner group personnel were on his private plane from Moscow to St Petersburg having just been in Africa to promote Wagner activities. The plane was seen falling from the sky after 30 minutes and then exploded. There were 7 passengers and 3 crew members and all died.
Prigozhin is presumed to be dead as his name was on the passenger list, yet there was another plane that took off earlier and so until there is official identification, no one knows for sure if he was on the plane. All fingers point to Putin and the Kremlin, and they were silent for nearly 24 hours on the incident, but many see this as Putin asserting control and getting rid of ‘traitors’ and those who don’t do as he wants.
On the same day General Suovikin who was alleged to have been involved in the mutiny on 24 June 2023, has officially been fired and is said to be on vacation. No one has seen him since 24 June, and the likelihood is that no one will see him again. The usual methods of dispensing with people include poisoning them, falling out of windows, car accidents, and now plan crashes
.
The world should be concerned as Putin is taking over the Wagner Group and that is dangerous, and also the fact that we all knew Prigozhin was a dead man walking, and Putin chose the time to get rid of him—symbolically on the Ukrainian day of independence and while Putin was making speeches at the BRICS summit. Perhaps it’s an open threat to others as a message to tell others not to interfere with his plans? While no one is surprised at Prigozhin’s alleged assassination, speculation will arise as to what happened. Was it an aircraft failure, a bomb, or was the aircraft attacked or sabotaged? We many never know the answers, and perhaps Prigozhin was wise enough to use a decoy?
Day 544 (21 August)
Zelenskyy arrives in Athens for the Ukraine-Balkan summit.
The US has advised Americans to leave Belarus after Lithuania closed two border crossings. This is an indication that the country is hostile and Americans could be at risk (kidnapping) and tensions may lead to difficulties in exiting the country.
Day 545 (22 August)
Zelenskyy had a private meeting with the Serbian president Aleksander Vucic at the Ukraine-Balkan summit.
Zelenskyy also meets with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic. Montenegro has also joined the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. Luxembourg also joins the G7 declaration.
To try and protect the Kerch bridge and to block Ukrainian drones, Russia has been sinking ferries and vessels to form a barrier to stop further attacks on the bridge.
General Surovikin has been dismissed from his role as deputy commander of the Russian troops. The claim is that he is on a short vacation, whereas previous reports state he is being detained and no one has seen him since the end of June 2023 after the mutiny march.
Day 546 (23 August)
Prigozhin and six other Wagner associates are reported to have been killed in an air crash when the private plane they were on from Moscow to St Petersburg suddenly dropped from the sky and crashed. His death doesn’t come as a surprise after the 24 June 2023 insurrection march, but some Russians have mourned his death as they saw him as a patriot.
The aircraft that went down was a Embraer Legacy jet RA-02795, and another jet took off earlier (RA-02794) but flight records are unavailable for the rest of the journey for that plane. Prigozhin owned both planes.
Others included Dmitry Utkin his second in command, and Sergei Propustin, Yevgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin, Valery Chekalov and Nikolai Matuseyev.
The crew members were identified as Captain Alexei Levshin, co-pilot Rustam Karimov and flight attendant Kristina Raspopova
The 3rd summit of the Crimean Platform took place, where 63 countries gathered in Kyiv to discuss the de-occupation of Crimea. Serbia joined the platform this year, and the country has offered support to Ukraine despite the reports that Serbian mercenaries are fighting for Russia.
Russian attacked Izmail and destroyed 13,000 tonnes of grain, making a total of at least 27,000 tonnes being destroyed since the end of the Black Sea grain deal.
Putin blamed the West for the warren Ukraine in a speech at the BRICS summit in South Africa. He appeared via video link as Lavrov represented Russia as Putin feared being arrested as South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute with an obligation to uphold the rules of the ICC. He claims that the West promote colonisation which led to the war.
Russia decided to support people that fight for their culture, for their traditions for their language, and for the future. Russia's actions in Ukraine, or designed to put an end to the war that was unleashed by the west against people in the Donbass. (Putin)
Day 547 (24 August)
The 32nd Ukrainian day of independence where Zelenskyy reiterates that no territory will be conceded for NATO membership or as a trade off for peace talks.
A number of foreign leaders arrive in Ukraine to show support for the independence of Ukraine and offer additional military packages and support to the country. Gitanas Nausea of Lithuania arrived on 23 August as did Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Ukrainian troops have landed on occupied Crimea and raised the Ukrainian flag on Independence Day. The operation to de-occupy Crimea will take time, but Ukraine will not concede the occupied territory and this is a clear message to those countries who keep suggesting that Ukraine cede some land for peace.
Bayraktar, a drone manufacturer from Turkey has donated a drone for Independence Day.
Germany has sent Patriot missiles to Ukraine and 8 new drone detection systems and 40 reconnaissance drones as part of a military package.
A Russian was seen to defect to Ukraine by landing a Mi-8 helicopter in a Ukrainian airfield. Reports say the surrender has been negotiated for 6 months as it looks as if the Russian soldier wishes to defect.
Norways joins the Netherlands and Denmark in supplying F-16s to Ukraine. Norway will supply 2 aircraft immediately to assist with training. The proviso is that the aircraft should not be used outside of Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine has stated that they need 128 F-16 jets to create 4 aviation brigades to be effective. It is unknown how many will be supplied by the allies and how many from each country. Greece has also joined the coalition as pilots begin to be trained on the F-16. It takes 6 months to train a pilot which means the earliest they can fly will be March 2024.
The Russian ambassador in Denmark stated that this act is seen as an escalation of war (Vladimir Barbin).
The fact that Denmark has decided to transfer 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine, leads to an escalation of the conflict. Hiding behind the fact that Ukraine itself must determine the terms of peace, Denmark, seeks to leave Ukraine a choice, but continue the military confrontation.
Putin makes a speech at BRICS stating that Prigozhin died in a plane crash and an investigation will take time. He gives credit to the soldiers who fought for Russia and says that Prigozhin had a difficult fate. Many believe that Putin had planned the execution via an accident that can’t be traced. It appeared to be propaganda too, as he sent condolences to the families of those who died. One must hand it to Putin for timing, on the Ukrainian day of independence and and 2 months after the insurrection. No doubt, it took that long to plan the incident, and perhaps there were others that failed and that were not reported.
Putin offers 25-50,000 tonnes of free grain to African countries at he BRICS summit as a bribe. Is it working? It’s hard to say as countries are wary of being dependent on Russia and need aid from other countries as well.
Thank you E-L for this latest up-date. I've been listening to various news reports throughout the day and frankly, I'm surprised Prigozhin lasted as long as he did; I expected an accident would have happened sooner.