People must be sceptical of reports of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, according to one former NATO Ambassador. 

There has still been no official confirmation over whether Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was among those killed in a plane crash in Russia on Wednesday. 

His name was apparently on a list of ten who were on board the aircraft, which came down north of Moscow. 

Russian investigators claim they've found the bodies and that genetic examinations are being carried out. 

Former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, however, said there has been no outside confirmation of Mr Prigozhin’s death. 

“We cannot rust anything the Russian release as facts,” he said. 

“They will put out whatever they want to put, regardless of whatever they find on the ground, who the bodies are, what the black box says.”

People place a flag with an image of the owner of Yevgeny Prigozhin at an informal memorial next to the former 'PMC Wagner Centre' in St. Petersburg, Russia, 25/08/2023. Image: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Expert Mark Gelotti also said he is “confident” the Russian State was involved in the death if it did happen. 

“We can be confident this was a bomb and that the Russian State is behind it,” he said. 

“Not least because they’re not pointing fingers at anyone else, which would be their usual technique.” 

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a videoconference in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 25/08/2023. Image: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Prigozhin previously led a coup in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don, vowing to defeat the “evil” leaders of the military who had "destroyed... tens of thousands of lives of Russian soldiers" in the war against Ukraine.

Russian Expert Keir Giles said Mr Prigozhin’s reported death will strengthen President Putin’s position. 

“All of those questions about the weakness of Putin that came as a result of him not swiftly murdering Prigozhin have now been dispelled,” he said. 

“He should be on a much firmer footing now, because there isn’t that open question or whether you can actually challenge him.” 

Reporting by IRN.