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The Coup Guy Who Kinda/Sorta Attempted To Oust Putin Is Reportedly Dead After His Plane *Mysteriously* Fell From The Sky, And People Have Thoughts

It sure is a busy day for Vladimir Putin-related updates. The Russian president spent part of the day blaming everyone else for his invasion of Ukraine, and now, we might be seeing an exaggerated version of those who are critical of Putin suddenly plunging from high-rise windows to their deaths.

The BBC is relaying word from Russia’s civil aviation authority about the fiery wreckage of a plane, which was reportedly owned by Coup Guy Yevgeny Prigozhin. He is, of course, the former Wagner Group chief who attempted to turn Putin’s private mercenary army against the Kremlin with the intent of ousting the Russian president. That didn’t happen, although it did leave Putin apparently sitting still, frozen. Coup Guy was subsequently exiled to Belarus, and it seemed like only a matter of time before something, you know, happened. Granted, Coup Guy’s death is not officially confirmed as of yet, although he is believed to have been one of 10 on board, as CNN notes:

On social media, footage is circulating of the plane spiraling down from he sky, after which it burst into flames upon impact. (As well, graphic footage purports to show dead bodies, so be warned before you go looking.)

The BBC further reports that the “Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone reported the Embraer aircraft was shot down by air defences in the Tver region, north of Moscow.” Additionally, “Tass news agency said the plane caught fire on hitting the ground, adding that four bodies had already been found.”

On social media, the general guess is that this will be called “just an accident” by the Kremlin.

Dan Rather is not shocked. “In a surprise to no one, a plane carrying the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a failed coup attempt against Putin, crashed in Russia killing all aboard,” tweeted the former CBS News anchor. “Apparently the Kremlin is ‘investigating.'”

And yes, people have thoughts. They are thinking of high-rise windows and vodka toasts at the Kremlin.

(Via BBC, CNN& The Recount on Twitter)