Fact-Check: Old Clip Shared as Video of Wagner Chief Prigozhin’s Plane Crash

The video dates back to June 2023, when the Wagner mercenary coup launched a coup against Russia's leadership.

A video showing an aircraft crashing down is going viral across social media platforms, with the claim that it shows the moment of the plane crash which reportedly killed Russian Wagner mercenary group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

What is the truth?: While the video is from Russia, it does not show Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash.

• The video has been on the internet since 24 June and reportedly shows an attack on the Russian IL-22 aircraft by the Wagner group's mercenaries.

How did we find out?: Upon doing a relevant keyword search on YouTube, we found a video by The Sun that was uploaded on 25 June, titled, "Russian plane crashes out of the sky after 'being shot down by Wagner forces."

• The attack had happened in the Voronezh region of Russia.

• We matched the frames of the viral video and The Sun's YouTube video and came across similarities.

• The Sun reported that it was the IL-18 aircraft that was shot, however, a message posted on 25 June by Channel One correspondent Irina Kuksenkova on her Telegram mentioned that it was the IL-22 that was shot down.

• We found a news report by Russian news organisation Lenta RU that noted the departure of Wagner Group from the Voronezh region on 25 June.

• The Quint, in a report from 25 June, noted that the Wagner Group launched the coup on 23 June and took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don.

• Further, the reason for the Wagner rebellion was said to be Prigozhin's anger towards the Russian military leadership and the changed prospects of the mercenary group.

• Hindustan Times also reported on the incident with similar visuals as the viral video.

• Forbes mentioned that command post II-22 was important for Russia, as they were deployed to coordinate the war against Ukraine.

• The report added that the rebellion by Prigozhin served as a distraction to Russia and benefitted Ukraine as it disrupted the main supply lines between the two countries.

• It also wrote that Prigozhin reportedly offered 50 million rubles (approximately 4.3 crore rupees) to the families of the II-22 crew.

More on Yevgeny Prigozhin: The Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead in a plane crash that happened near Tver around Moscow on 23 August.

• The Kremlin has denied allegations of being associated with Prigozhin's death.

• BBC reported that Russian President Vladmir Putin expressed his condolences for those dead in the crash and called Prigozhin a "talented person who made serious mistakes in life," but stopped short of confirming his demise.

• The cause of the plane crash is still unknown.

Conclusion: The viral video does not show the moment of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash. It is of the Wagner group's attack on Russian aircrafts from June 2023.

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