https://www.politico.eu/article/russian-wagner-group-back-war-front-in-ukraine-kyiv-forces-say/
Ukrainian reconnaissance and wiretaps expose the front-line return of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s old guard, colonel tells POLITICO.
“I see nothing special in their return. Wagner is no longer a powerful force. Those who returned are far from being in a good fighting mood, as they know what to expect here,” Cherevatyi said. “Furthermore, they are now under the control of the Defense Ministry.
That's pretty important. It seems like Wagner had an effective command structure that allowed for successful offensive capabilities. The Russian military will just mindlessly march them into Ukraine's meatgrinder.
Wagner also paid its soldiers, which if reports are correct, something Moscow is neglecting to do for soldiers consistently today.
So I know their leader died in that plane crash but was it obviously an assasination by Putin or shot down by Ukraine?
Everyone (except Putin) is saying Putin.
The plane was shot down over Russian airspace with a radar jamming missile.
Also, the top three members of Wagner were all on the plane, and there was no clear line of succession. Just a standing offer from Putin to roll the mercenaries into the regular army.
The other responses are good, but I'll just add that if it was Ukraine, they would take credit for it. Assassinating a high ranking officer is a big deal, and would make them look strong. So unless there's something else going on, it's safe to rule Ukraine out.
There was no proof that it was shot done by something like a rocket. Most likely it was a bomb inside the plane. It is very difficult for Ukraine to assassinate him this way, plus, there was no benefit to kill somebody who was revolting.