Putin challenger Prigozhin reportedly killed in plane crash

The news: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, is suspected to have died after a private jet on which he was listed as a passenger crashed with no survivors.

The numbers: Russian officials said 10 people, including three crew members, had been on board the aircraft, which crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday evening.

The context: Prigozhin incurred Russian President Vladimir Putin's wrath in June by staging an abortive armed mutiny against the army's top brass. His death would rid Putin of someone who had mounted the most serious challenge to the Russian leader's authority since he came to power in 1999. The Wall Street Journal separately reported that British security sources believe the private plane was shot down by Russia’s FSB intelligence agency.