Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us or need a catch-up, here's a reminder of where things stand:

• Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after appearing on the passenger list of a private jet that crashed north-west of Moscow

• 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
• Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone earlier reported that the jet had been shot down by the Russian military, without providing evidence
• Russian state media said the aircraft caught fire on hitting the ground having being in the air for less than half an hour
• A criminal investigation has been launched into the cause of the crash

• 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

Shashank Joshi, defence editor for The Economist, says the Russian government has a track record of going after those it perceives as having betrayed the state.

He points to the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence officer, in the UK.

Joshi says this was carried out using a “theatrical, public method”, using the radioactive substance Polonium-210.

There was also the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018 using the Novichok nerve agent.

Russian nationals linked to military intelligence are suspected of carrying out the attack.

“It was an act of vengeance against a perceived enemy of Vladimir Putin, a perceived traitor to the Russian state, and it was done in a way that was meant to send a signal and a message to all others,” Joshi says.

Image source, Getty Images

Christopher Steele - former head of the Russia desk at Britain's foreign intelligence agency (MI6) - says it's "inevitable" that this would be Prigozhin's ending.

He tells the BBC the plane crash was likely to have been organised or ordered by somebody high up in the security apparatus, "maybe with Putin's tacit approval".

"We were told some weeks ago, in fact, that there had been a contract taken out on Prigozhin inside Russia by senior people in the business community.

"So he had a lot of enemies, very few allies actually inside the regime and in a way it was inevitable that this would be his ending."

US President Joe Biden has been reacting to news about the possible death of Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Watch his comments in this short clip:

Officials earlier said that the search operation around the plane crash site has been complete, and police are now blocking a road close to where it come down.

The site is near the village of Kuzhenkino in Tver region, about half-way between Moscow and St Petersburg.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Reuters

From the moment Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny in Russia collapsed in June there was always a sense that a man who had lived so close to the edge for so long had overplayed his hand.

If he was on board his own private jet when it went down en route from Moscow to St Petersburg then it would mark a shocking and violent end to a very turbulent life.

For so many years Vladimir Putin was able to call on Prigozhin's services.

But the botched revolt involving thousands of Wagner mercenaries went beyond the pale.

President Putin condemned the rebellion as "treason" and it was soon very clear that Prigozhin's prolific role in Russia was over.

Read Paul Kirby's full article here

These images were sent to the BBC by locals in Kuzhenkino, the area where Russian authorities say the plane came down.

Our colleagues at BBC Verify have confirmed the location.

Image source, BBC Russian

Image source, BBC Russian

And if you want to understand the geography a bit more, this map shows where Kuzhenkino is located.

The Russian emergencies ministry said the plane was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg.

Image source, .

In Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, there was little sympathy for Yevgeny Prigozhin’s apparent demise – let's not forget that his Wagner troops led the attacks on Bakhmut, one of the most gruesome campaigns of the war so far.

Polina Kasachkova, an 83-year-old woman, said the news "only brings happiness".

"I want more news like this, it would make things much easier for Ukraine," she said.

Someone else in Kyiv, a soldier named Hennadii, said he believed Prigozhin staged his death "in order to flee".

Another man, Ihor, said he doesn't think the development changes much on the frontline, but that it will probably lift spirits of Ukrainian soldiers.

"Though it is nice to know that there is one less plane out there and ten less Russians," he said.

Image source, Reuters

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead after appearing on the passenger list of a private jet that crashed north of the Russian capital, Moscow.

Russian aviation officials confirmed the aircraft, an Embraer Legacy, was flying between Moscow and St Petersburg when it crashed in the Tver region, north of Moscow on Wednesday evening.

The private jet was carrying seven passengers and three crew.

Preliminary information says all 10 people on board were killed.

According to Russia's investigative committee, a criminal investigation has been launched into the cause of the crash.

Read more on this story here.

The bodies of all ten people travelling on board the crashed planed have been recovered from the site, and the search operation has been complete, says the Interfax news agency quoting emergency services

Wagner's commander and co-founder Dmitry Utkin was also named as one of those travelling on the crashed plane, on the list released by Russia's air transport agency.

Grey Zone, the Telegram channel believed linked to Wagner, also said that Utkin has been killed.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency has included Yevgeny Prigozhin's name on a list of those "declared as travelling on board the crashed plane".

Prigozhin's name is listed alongside six other passengers, and three crew members.

We've been hearing from people in the Russian capital Moscow, who are reacting to the news of the plane crash and Wagner boss Prigozhin's possible death.

One man called Dmitry says it was to be "expected because of some of the things he did" and adds "they should be punished".

Dmitry continues by saying Prigozhin "had a lot of enemies, as far as I know".

When one woman's asked if she's worried about Prigozhin's fate she replies by saying "we're worried about everyone; our hearts ache for everyone in the world".

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has posted, external his thoughts about what's happened on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

He says "it is worth waiting for the fog of war to disappear", but goes on to say it is "obvious that Prigozhin signed a special death warrant for himself the moment he believed in Lukashenko's bizarre 'guarantees' and Putin's equally absurd 'word of honor'."

"The demonstrative elimination of Prigozhin and the Wagner command two months after the coup attempt is a signal from Putin to Russia's elites ahead of the 2024 elections. 'Beware! Disloyalty equals death'," Podolyak writes.

Prigozhin's death is yet to be officially confirmed.

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

In response to reports that a plane belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin has crashed in Russia, a UK government spokesman said "we are monitoring the situation closely".

US President Joe Biden said he was "not surprised" by the news of the crash in Russia.

Asked by reporters in Nevada if he thought Vladimir Putin was responsible, he said: “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.”

A Telegram channel believed to be linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin has said the Wagner leader is dead.

Grey Zone said he was "killed as a result of actions by traitors of Russia".

The BBC has not been able to verify this information.

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

It's two months to the day since Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his so-called "March of Justice".

The Wagner mutiny had been directed at Russia's military leadership. Prigozhin was demanding the removal of the Russian defence minister and chief of the general staff.

But his actions - armed insurrection - were a direct challenge to the authority of Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president called the organisers of the mutiny "traitors" who had "stabbed Russia in the back".

Though a deal was cut between Prigozhin and the Kremlin to end the mutiny, much was unclear: would the two sides keep to their agreement? And could the Kremlin forgive what it perceived as treachery by the founder of the Wagner group?

Two months on... a plane crashes. Soon after: reports that Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list.

If he was, and if he has been killed, there will be much speculation surrounding the circumstances of his death. Would this be an act of revenge? And what will be the consequences?

Will Vernon
BBC News, Moscow

Shortly after the first reports of the plane crash, Russian media swiftly established that the jet belonged to Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Shortly after that, the Russian Emergencies Ministry released a statement saying all 10 people on board had been killed.

But what was incredibly fast - suspiciously so - was the speed with which Rosaviatsiya, the Russian Aviation Authority, reacted: releasing a statement confirming that Yevgeny Prigozhin's name was on the passenger list of the aircraft.

As is usually the case in Russia, a lot of things remain unclear.

First and foremost, who exactly was on the plane: we have not yet received confirmation of whether Yevgeny Prigozhin is among the dead.

Secondly, what exactly happened – was the plane hit by air defence weapons? Was there an explosion on board?

It is exactly two months to the day since Wagner launched its brief mutiny, seizing a major Russian city and even marching on Moscow.

The failed coup was a significant humiliation for the Kremlin. What exactly happened today is still not known – but many in Russia have been speculating for weeks that Prigozhin’s days might be numbered.

If you're just joining us or need a recap:

• Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a crashed plane, Russian authorities say
• All ten people on board the plane were killed, according to preliminary information, the emergencies ministry said. Eight bodies are said to have been recovered

• Grey Zone, a Telegram channel believed to be linked to Wagner, says Prigozhin's plane was shot down
• However, the BBC has no confirmation that Prigozhin was definitely on the plane
• Video footage verified by the BBC shows a plane falling from the sky in Kuzhenkino, Russia,
• Prigozhin founded the Wagner mercenary group, which has been active in conflicts and Africa and the Middle East, and fought alongside the Russians in Ukraine
• Prigozhin led a short-lived mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin in June
• Under a deal to end it, charges against him were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus - he had kept a low profile since then