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Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been confirmed dead by genetic testing following a horror plane crash.
The Russian military man, 62, was killed when his private jet went plummeting to the ground on Wednesday evening (August 23).
Analysis has now been carried out on the 10 bodies recovered from the wreckage, confirming Prigozhin was one of the deceased passengers on board.
READ MORE: Putin 'signed his own death warrant' after 'having Wagner Group boss killed'
The Investigative Committee also stated all 10 victims of the crash had now been identified, reports the BBC.
The update comes after Prigozhin's body was unofficially identified by a commander of the mercenary group he led on Thursday (August 24).
The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reported the military boss' corpse was recognised thanks to a partially-missing finger on his left hand, an injury he suffered while he served time in a gulag.
It is thought Prigozhin was killed at the orders of Russian despot Vladimir Putin after the mercenary leader attempted to stage a coup, marching thousands of his ex-inmate troops to Moscow before the uprising was stopped 24 hours after it began.
One source suggested a bomb was planted on the plane with a crate of "expensive wine" having been loaded onto the aircraft moments before takeoff – possibly concealing an explosive.
Wagner social media accounts have also claimed the plane was shot down by Russian air defences.
UK defence sources backed up the claims and told the BBC the plane was "most likely" taken out by Putin's FSB secret service, but didn't specify the method used.
Former British Army officer Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said "absolutely nobody is surprised" by Prigozhin's death, but said it could spell trouble for Putin.
"Putin has signed his death warrant here," he told The Sun earlier this week.
"He has upset the two most powerful groups in Russia – the oligarchs who keep him in power and the most effective fighting force Putin has ever put in the field, the Wagner Group."
And Colonel de Bretton-Gordon's prediction could come true soon – with Prigozhin's death confirmed, many fear the Wagner Group could now seek to avenge their leader.
"Many discussions of what Wagner will do in this situation," members of the mostly ex-inmate mercenary group said.
"We'll say one thing – we're starting off. Expect us."
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the crash.
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