Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is on the list of those confirmed dead in the ill-fate jet which crashed, killing all on board, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority.
Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone had reported the Embraer aircraft was shot down by air defences in the Tver region, north of Moscow.
Flying from the capital to St. Petersburg, the jet carried seven passengers and three crew.
Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian armed forces in June.
Grey Zone said residents heard two bangs before the crash and saw two vapour trails.
Tass news agency disclosed that the jet caught fire on hitting the ground, adding that four bodies had already been found.
The media outfit added that the aircraft had been in the air for less than half an hour.
PLANE CRASH! NOT REALY, Putin Russia GOT RID OF THE FOOL.
Not so smart after all, if smart at all.
GOOD RIDDANCE YOU WOULD SAY.