Satellite image of planes linked to Prigozhin in Belarus appears
Two planes linked to Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin landed at a Belarusian air base near Minsk on Tuesday morning.
Source: CNN, citing a BlackSky satellite image, data from FlightRadar24, a senior European intelligence official and a source familiar with information about Prigozhin's aircraft
Details: A satellite image taken on Tuesday morning shows the two planes – serial numbers RA-20795 and RA-02878 – parked on the runway at Machulishchy airfield, near Minsk.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 shows that the planes landed near Minsk around 08:00 local time. Both sides turned off their transponders before landing to conceal the exact landing location.
Two sources – a high-ranking European intelligence official and a source familiar with information about Prigozhin's planes – confirmed to CNN that the planes are linked to the Wagner group leader, but did not know if Prigozhin was on board.
Background:
- Prigozhin’s exact whereabouts is still unknown. He has not been seen in public since leaving military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday night during the mutiny.
- On Sunday afternoon, Prigozhin's plane took off from St. Petersburg to Rostov-on-Don. Data from FlightRadar24 shows that the plane made a sharp turn towards the city before the transponders went offline. About five hours later, the plane's transponders were turned on again, and it was seen leaving the Rostov-on-Don area, heading back to St. Petersburg. At 01:03, the same plane appeared in the Rostov-on-Don area and again turned off its transponders before landing.
- The plane reappeared on radar at 05:32 local time, leaving the Rostov-on-Don area. The transponders were turned off again at 07:37 local time as it began to descend in the Minsk area.
- The second plane flew from one Moscow airport to another on Sunday afternoon: from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Zhukovsky International Airport. On Monday, it flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg, landing at 13:26.
- This plane left St. Petersburg at 06:44 today. The transponders were turned off at 07:55 local time as it began to descend near Minsk.
- On Tuesday, self-proclaimed president Aleksandr Lukashenko announced that Prigozhin was in Belarus.
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