Former MI6 boss Sir John Sawers says he thinks it's highly likely that Vladimir Putin is behind the reported death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"You can never fully be certain of the facts in places like Russia but all the indications point to the fact that Putin has taken him out - he’s reasserted his control," he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Sawers says it's likely that there was a device "that brought the plane down suddenly, and killed everyone on board".

He rejected claims by Putin's former spokesman that Ukraine was responsible for the attack.

Earlier, Sergei Markov called Prigozhin a "hero" and said - without offering proof - that he was killed by Ukrainian intelligence as a "gift to Zelensky for Ukraine’s Independence Day".

Schools minister Nick Gibb says the government must "avoid jumping to conclusions" over the plane crash in Russia that reportedly killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"This only happened a few hours ago," Gibb tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He says the government is monitoring the situation closely and working with its allies.

"I can't go any further at the moment," he adds. "But of course, the government will have more to say once our assessment of it has happened, and conversations with allies reach clear conclusions."

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Reuters

If you were looking for a first comment from Russia's president on the reported demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, there really was nothing to see in this brief video address.

Putin stuck to his script, focusing on the expansion of the Brics group "to ensure the influence of Brics in the world grows".

Not much of a surprise that there was no mention of his former ally-turned-mutineer. It may have been the elephant in the room but this was not the forum for domestic concerns.

Of course, Putin was not actually in the room in Johannesburg. He stayed in Russia because of an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine issued by the International Criminal Court.

After a few brief statements, world leaders left the stage in Johannesburg following the closing press conference of the Brics summit.

China's Xi Jinping, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa and India's Narendra Modi all made brief comments, while Vladimir Putin appeared via video link.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not speak.

There was no mention of Yevgeny Prigozhin or last night's plane crash.

Image source, Reuters

President Putin issues a short statement via video link to the summit in Johannesburg.

He thanks South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for hosting the summit and for the expansion of the group beyond the current five nations.

He does not comment on last night's plane crash.

It comes after the Brics group decided to invite six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - to become new members of the bloc.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been representing Putin in South Africa and is at the press briefing. However, he did not address attendees.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is now addressing a press conference at the Brics summit in South Africa via video link.

The group, made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have been hosting a summit over the last few days.

We'll bring you what he says shortly.

Image source, Reuters

Turning briefly away from the plane crash in Russia to Kyiv now, where it's 32 years since Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union.

Before the conflict, a military parade would march through central Kyiv.

But to mark the occasion this year, destroyed Russian tanks and other military hardware are being exhibited along the capital’s main street.

"Happy Ukraine’s Independence Day! The day of the free, the strong, and the dignified. The day of equals," President Volodymyr Zelensky writes on X, external, formerly known as Twitter.

In a nod to the war, Zelensky adds: "In this fight, everyone counts. Because the fight is for something that is important to everyone. An independent Ukraine."

A press conference in Johannesburg for the Brics summit is due to start shortly, and we're expecting to hear from Russia.

We're not sure yet whether that will be President Vladimir Putin via video link, or Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has been representing Putin in South Africa.

We'll bring you updates from that press briefing as we get them.

The Kremlin has so far remained silent on last night's plane crash.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring

Image source, Rossiya 1

In last night’s main evening news bulletins on Russian TV, the crash of a plane reportedly carrying Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin received only the briefest of mentions.

The plane crash was breaking news on state-run Rossiya 1, which in a brief report said that 10 people were on board and all had perished.

In a similarly short account, state TV’s Channel One said that the executive jet was en route from Moscow to St Petersburg carrying a crew of three plus seven others. Emergency teams are at the scene, it said.

Both quoted Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, as saying that Prigozhin’s name was on the passenger list, but neither report provided context or comment.

Image source, Rossiya 1

The BBC's analysis editor Ros Atkins takes a look at Yevgeny Prigozhin throughout the years.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining our coverage of the plane crash in Russia, here's what's been happening:

• The Wagner mercenary group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed to have been killed in a plane crash north of Moscow, alongside his right-hand-man Dmitry Utkin and eight others
• The aircraft, owned by Prigozhin, was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg with seven passengers and three crew when it crashed in the Tver region. All 10 bodies have been recovered, reports say
• A Wagner linked Telegram channel called the Grey Zone reported Prigozhin's death, saying he was "killed as a result of actions by traitors of Russia"
• The Kremlin hasn't confirmed their deaths, but there is speculation that senior Russian leadership was involved

• Prigozhin was a key ally of President Putin but their relationship soured after the Wagner chief staged a failed mutiny against Russia's military leaders in June

Wagner has been dying a slow death over the last two months, and the reported death of its leader leaves the group with "limited options", according to an intelligence chief.

Justin Crump, CEO of the Sibylline intelligence consultancy and British army veteran, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that since Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed coup attempt, rumours have been circulating over the future of the mercenary group.

A report from Ukraine's national resistance centre this morning cites Belarussian sources claiming that some Wagner forces are moving towards the border with Russia.

Responding to the report, Crump says: "There are many claims about what Wagner is or isn't doing, but I think reality is it has been dismembered over the last few months.

"The organisation has come under this deep level of scrutiny and a slow and steady operation to prevent it from having the level of power it clearly showed it had two months ago."

Yesterday's crash in the Tver region, north-west of the capital Moscow, killed all 10 people aboard the private plane.

Prigozhin's aircraft - an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) - was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg with seven passengers and three crew, Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said.

Image source, .

As the BBC's correspondent in Moscow Will Vernon says, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has so far remained tight-lipped on the reported death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The Kremlin has not confirmed that Prigozhin was among the 10 people on board the crashed plane.

Russia's investigative committee has "opened a criminal case" into the plane crash, according to the organisation's spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.

She says an investigation team "has been sent to the scene of the accident" and "all necessary forensic examinations" are taking place.

Image source, Reuters

In case you need a reminder of who Yevgeny Prigozhin is, he's the head of the Wagner mercenary group, which he established in 2014.

A wealthy businessman with a criminal record, he was known as "Putin’s chef" because he provided catering for the Kremlin.

In June he led his troops on a short-lived mutiny, after they seized control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved towards Moscow, with the stated aim of removing the military leadership.

However, Prigozhin stopped the advance after negotiations with the Kremlin, which were mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Under a deal to end the mutiny, charges against Prigozhin were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus.

He has kept a low profile since then, although a video released a few days ago suggested he was in an African country.

• Read more: Yevgeny Prigozhin - from Putin's chef to rebel in chief

The BBC’s James Waterhouse in Kyiv says people in Ukraine have little sympathy for Prigozhin and are hoping for an "implosion" within Russia.

“This is the leader of a mercenary group that has undertaken some of the most brutal fighting in Ukraine," he says.

“Until anyone hears confirmation or sees Prigozhin himself put out a video then I don’t think people will believe it fully – but there is a lot of willing here in Ukraine."

Many Ukrainians have been hoping that Vladimir Putin would be "somehow toppled", and Prigozhin's mutiny, although it failed, was seen as the start of that.

This development "feeds those subconscious hopes that Putin’s regime could fall,” Waterhouse says.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on social media that the plane crash was "a signal from Putin to Russia's elites ahead of the 2024 elections. 'Beware! Disloyalty equals death'."

BBC's Monitoring's Russia Editor, Vitaly Shevchenko, says speculation is spreading about the plane crash that Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin was believed to be a passenger on.

"I've seen a number of video clips filmed by eyewitnesses who said that they had heard two explosions and they drew the conclusion that the aircraft had been shot out of the sky," he says.

"But this is unconfirmed, this is speculative."

We're getting new pictures from Russia's Tver region, where emergency specialists and police are surveying the wreckage of a private jet linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The Kremlin is yet to confirm whether the Wagner chief died in the plane crash yesterday, but aviation officials said he was one of six passengers on board.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Adam Hancock
BBC News

Besides Yegeny Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dimitry Utkin, there were five other passengers on the plane, according to Russia's aviation authority. This is what we know about them:

• Valeriy Chekalov

One of Prigozhin's closest friends, Chekalov had been with the Wagner leader since the 2000s, according to Russia observer Giorgi Revishvili., external

Not only was he in charge of Wagner's logistics, he also oversaw Prigozhin's contracts supplying food to the military, as well as overseas projects involving geological exploration, oil production, or agriculture.

He was linked to Evropolis, a company which struck a lucrative oil deal with Syria and was paying Wagner fighters and procuring arms, according to investigative group All Eyes on Wagner., external

Chekalov had been targeted by US sanctions, external for acting on behalf of Prigozhin and supplying arms to Russia.

• Yevgeny Makaryan

A former district police officer, Makaryan joined Wagner in March 2016, according to investigative site Dossier Center., external

He had fought for the mercenary group in Syria, and his callsign was "Makar".

• Sergey Propustin

A Wagner fighter since 2015, Propustin used the callsign "Kedr" and had fought in the second Chechen war, according to Revishvili.

Dossier Center said he came from a unit which supplied Prigozhin with many of his personal bodyguards.

• Alexander Totmin

Known by his callsign "Tot", Totmin often posted pictures on Instagram of his flashy lifestyle, according to journalist Michael D Weiss, external.

• Nikolay Matuseev

While Dossier Center was unable to find a person with that name on Russian lists, they found a 'Nikolai Matusevich' who has fought with Wagner since 2017.

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

Good morning from London where the early team are taking over from our colleagues in Singapore to continue the coverage of the reported death of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash.

Here's a summary of what we know:

• The head of the Wagner mercenary group has been named by Russia's aviation agency as a passenger on the private jet, but the Kremlin has not confirmed his death
• Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against Russia's military leaders in June
• There's intense speculation about the cause of last night's plane crash in north-western Russia that killed all 10 people on board
• Russian authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash

I'm here with Emily Atkinson and Ali Abbas Ahmadi and together with our correspondents in Russia and Ukraine and the BBC Verify team, we'll be bringing you updates and analysis so stay with us.