Wagner troops shot down Russian special mission plane in failed mutiny

Wagner troops shot down a Russian ‘special mission’ plane in failed mutiny that will damage Putin’s war efforts in Ukraine, UK says, as Kyiv claims the FSB has been ordered to ASSASSINATE Prigozhin

• Footage appeared to show the enflamed aircraft plummeting to the ground
• Ilyushin Il-22M is a ‘special mission aircraft’ that played a ‘key role’ for Russia

A Russian plane reportedly shot down by Wagner forces during the short-lived insurgency over the weekend was a ‘special mission aircraft’ that played a ‘key role’ in the Ukraine conflict, the British Ministry of Defence has said.

Amid their march on Moscow, the air defence forces of the Wagner group are understood to have shot down an Ilyushin Il-22M aircraft said to be ‘heavily utilised for both airborne command and control, and radio relay tasks’ by Russia’s military, the MoD said.

Footage appeared to show the enflamed aircraft – only one of 12 planes – plummeting to the ground over Voronezh.

Debris from one of Russia’s most prized airborne assets was also shown stricken across the ground with all ten passengers reportedly dead.

It comes just days after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s men made the shock retreat away form Moscow – with Ukraine now claiming the Russian FSB have been ‘charged with a task to assassinate’ the Wagner boss despite having struck a deal with Vladimir Putin that was brokered by Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko.

Debris from one of Russia’s Ilyushin Il-22M aircraft was shown stricken across the ground

Prigozhin reportedly told a journalist that a ‘fool’ within Wager’s ranks had shot at ‘everything that took off’ as the reported Ilyushin Il-22M fell to the ground

Ukraine have now claimed the Russian FSB have been ‘charged with a task to assassinate’ Prigozhin, pictured amid the insurgency Saturday

Amid the Ilyushin Il-22M aircraft being shot down over the weekend, five further helicopters were also reported to have been shot out of the sky by Wagner forces, including Ka-52 Alligator gunships.

The MoD said in an intelligence update on Twitter: ‘The Il-22M is part of a relatively small fleet of up to 12 aircraft, heavily utilised for both airborne command and control, and radio relay tasks.

‘These special mission aircraft have played a key role in orchestrating Russian forces in their war against Ukraine.’

The statement added that the planes were ‘high value assets’ and so have ‘operated within the safety of Russian airspace, far beyond the range of Ukrainian air defence systems’. 

‘The loss of this aircraft is likely to have a negative impact on Russian air and land operations,’ the update continued. ‘In the short term the psychological shock of losing a large number of aircrew in this manner will almost certainly damage morale within the Russian Aerospace Force.’

‘There is a possibility that current tasking levels may have to be reduced to safely manage the remaining fleet.

‘This will likely undermine Russia’s ability to command and coordinate its forces, particularly during periods of high tempo operations.’

The aircraft has so far played a key role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, largely acting as a portable air traffic control unit.

Prigozhin reportedly told a journalist that a ‘fool’ within Wager’s ranks had shot at ‘everything that took off’.

The Ilyushin Il-22M aircraft is a ‘high value assets’ and so have ‘operated within the safety of Russian airspace

Crash site of a Ilyushin Il-22M Russian Air Forces plane, shot down by Wagner mercenaries over Voronezh region

Debris was seen sprawled across the floor as the plane was shot down by Wagner mercenaries over Voronezh region

The MoD’s intelligence update comes as Ukraine’s intelligence claimed that Russia’s FSB had been ‘charged with a task to assassinate’ Prigozhin despite the Wagner boss having made a deal to turn around his insurgency.

Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, told The War Zone: ‘We are aware that the FSB was charged with a task to assassinate him. Will they be successful in doing that? We’ll see with time.’

‘All of such potential assassination attempts will not be fast,’ Budanov continued.

‘It will take them some time to have the proper approaches and to reach the stage when they’re ready to add a huge operation. But once again, I’d like to underline that it’s a big open question.

‘Would they be successful in fulfilling that? Will they dare to execute that order?’

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has also suggested that Lukashenko may betray the Russian mercenary boss, despite offering him refuge after his aborted mutiny,

‘They’re not allies. They cannot trust each other,’ Tikhanovskaya told AFP in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday.

‘At any moment Lukashenko can betray Prigozhin, Prigozhin can betray Lukashenko.’

Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, said Russia’s FSB had been ‘charged with a task to assassinate’ Prigozhin

Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speak during their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei, Sochi, Russia, June 9

Lukashenko on Tuesday said Prigozhin had jetted into Belarus under a deal he mediated to end an armed rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group that posed the greatest challenge yet to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory against Lukashenko in 2020 presidential elections, said much remained unclear about the agreement.

But she insisted the move by Lukashenko to help his top backer Putin was a marriage of convenience aimed at saving his own regime in Belarus.

But it also comes amid reports that Wagner is still recruiting as usual despite Prigozhin standing his men down and Russia announcing.

The BBC reported that Wagner hotlines in several cities were still answering the phone and confirmed they were still recruiting employees as usual.

This was also confirmed as contracts to fight with Wagner themselves and not the Russian military.

‘Nothing has changed,’ the BBC reported Wagner hotline answerers as saying.

It comes despite Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu ordering all Russian ‘volunteer formations’ to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry by the first day of July.

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