Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed when his plane crashed in the Tver region of Russia, Russian authorities confirmed.
While authorities say they are investigating the crash, they revealed that all 10 people on board the plane were killed: three crew members and seven passengers. Russia's Federal Air Transportation Agency published the list of the passengers listed on board the flight: Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin, 53, Sergei Propustin, Evgeny Makaryan, 38, Alexander Totmin, 30, Valery Chekalov, and Nikolai Matyuseev. Aircraft commander Alexei Levshin, co-pilot Rustam Karimov, and flight attendant Kristina Raspopova were also on board, TASS reported.
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Along with Prigozhin, 62, most of the six played a prominent role in the private military company, which seized global headlines when it launched an aborted coup in June, exactly two months before their deaths.
Dmitry Utkin
Perhaps the most well-known figure in Wagner aside from Prigozhin, Utkin, is also shrouded in mystery. He served in Spetsnaz, Russia's elite special forces, from 1993-2013, during which he performed stints in Chechnya. Following his exit from the military, almost nothing is concretely known about him. He hasn't been seen in public since 2016, according to Foreign Policy, and analysts disagree as to whether he was an integral part of founding Wagner or a red herring.
His status as being at Prigozhin's side at the time of his death seems to confirm a more involved role. Professor Dani Belo of Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs believes that he served as the true head of the organization, with Prigozhin serving as a figurehead.
“He’s in the background making the organization actually run,” he told Global News. “Prigozhin can’t deliver the actual operational and tactical level stuff.”
The organization also allegedly takes its name from Utkin, coming from his military callsign of "Wagner."
He was also rumored to have Nazi sympathies and an eccentric personality. A Wagner fighter speaking with Russian journalist Sergey Khazov-Kassia in 2018 claimed that he has a swastika tattoo on his shoulder, sometimes wears "a headpiece with horns," and adhered to a Slavic Pagan religion.
Valery Chekalov
According to the Russian Telegram channel Signal, Chekalov was Prigozhin's deputy at Wagner and reportedly in charge of the group's security service.
He was targeted by United States sanctions last month for having "acted for or on behalf of Prigozhin" and having facilitated "shipments of munitions to the Russian Federation."
According to the open source intelligence group on X alleyesonwagner, Chekalov was the shareholder of Evropolis via Neva JSC, which had struck lucrative oil deals with the Syrian government. The company also procured arms and equipment for Wagner.
Yevgeny Makaryan
Makaryan, was a fighter in Wagner, and presumed by some Russian sources to be Prigozhin's bodyguard. He was included on the controversial Ukrainian Myrotvorets ("Peacemaker") website, which keeps a list of alleged "enemies of Ukraine."
The popular Russian Telegram channel BRIEF reported that he joined Wagner in March 2016, taking the callsign "Makar." He was reportedly part of the fourth Wagner assault detachment in Syria, which came under fire from American aircraft during the January 2017 engagement near Khasham.
Alexander Totmin
Totmin was a fighter in Wagner, also presumed to be one of Prigozhin's bodyguards. He was also included in Myrotvorets, which claimed that he had fought in Sudan. He took the callsign "Tot."
Sergey Propustin
Propustin, 44, was a Wagner fighter who served as a reconnaissance grenade launcher, according to Signal. He was also included in Myrotvorets.
BRIEF reported that he joined Wagner in March 2015, taking the callsign "Kedr."
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Nikolai Matuseev
Matuseev isn't included on the official Wagner list. However, BRIEF reported that a man by his same name joined Wagner in January 2017, joining the same unit as Makaryan in Syria.