North west of moscow. Pictures have emerged of the aftermath of the crash, which happened about halfway through the flight from moscow to st petersburg, while the plane was at its cruising altitude. Trajectory data suggest the aircraft essentially dropped out of the sky. Russias Aviation Agency shared what it claimed was a list of the passengers on the doomed flight among them, mr prigozhin and key wagner commander dmitry utkin. As police cordoned off the crash site, russias Emergency Ministry claimed that ten bodies had been recovered from the wreckage. The bbc has not been able to independently verify this information yet. But outside the wagner Group Headquarters in st petersburg, mourners have been laying flowers and lighting candles. If mr prigozhin is indeed dead, it would be an abrupt end, but its not unexpected, as will vernon explains from moscow. I dont think this news has surprised anyone here today. Around an hour after that plane crash, the Russian Federal Aviation Authority released a statement confirming Yevgeny Prigozhin� s name was on the Passenger Manifest of that plane. That is very fast for that particular agency. It usually takes much longer to respond to incidents like this. That already raised a few eyebrows here because after all, speculation has been swirling for some time now just exactly about what fate would await Yevgeny Prigozhin. When Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his mutiny exactly two months ago, his wagner mercenaries seized a major russian city and even marched on moscow. That was hugely humiliating for the kremlin and Vladimir Putin is not the kind of man to forget that. If pregozhin was killed in the plane crash today which is likely, it will come as no shock whatsoever to most people here. Most people will probably be surprised it did not happen sooner. We dont know what exactly caused that crash, Russian Media are saying investigators are looking into a number of different possibilities, including what they are calling external actions. Those potential external actions might be many, as former mi6 russia desk head Christopher Steele told the bbc earlier. So he had a lot of enemies, very few allies actually inside the regime and in a way it was inevitable that this would be his ending. And earlier on wednesday, us President Biden said this. I dont know for a fact what happened but i am not surprised. There is not much that happens in russia that putin is not behind. I do not know enough to have an answer. Live now to angela stent who is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the book putins world russia against the west and with the rest. Always great to see you, thanks for joining always great to see you, Thanks Forjoining us tonight. Cia director William Burns was asked last month why progression was still alive and i want to play a clip of what he said. ,. ,. ,. , he said. Putin is someone who generally he said. Putin is someone who generally thinks he said. Putin is someone who generally thinks that he said. Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge l generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold so he will try to settle the situation to the extent he cut, but again in my experience putin is the ultimate apostle of paybacks that i would be surprised if the ocean escapes further retribution for this, so in that sense the president is right that if i were progression i wouldnt fire my food taster. Food taster. Listening to that, if mr prigozhin food taster. Listening to that, if mr prigozhin is food taster. Listening to that, if mr prigozhin is confirmed i if mr prigozhin is confirmed that, was this expected . I think it was certainly expected and i think mr burns is right that it wasnt expected immediately. Putin wanted things to give them time to settle down and then take revenge on his own schedule which he did. I dont think anyone is apprised of prigozhin is dead, at exactly two months to the day when the failed mutiny began. But increasingly youve had criticism of recursion from putin and senior officials and he had disappeared although he did actually resurface this monday and a video which he said was taken in africa saying that lardner was increasing its Recruitment Efforts and that soldiers should volunteer and fight for wagner in africa. So in that sense it was an interesting timely because it seems that he had resurfaced again. Seems that he had resurfaced aaain. ~. Seems that he had resurfaced aiain,~. ,. , seems that he had resurfaced auain. ~. ,. , again. What about prigozhin . He was not but again. What about prigozhin . He was not but a again. What about prigozhin . He was not but a message again. What about prigozhin . He was not but a message on again. What about prigozhin . He | was not but a message on cosmic opponent, he supported the war in ukraine untilthe opponent, he supported the war in ukraine until the failed mutiny. How significant was he to Vladimir Putin . Mas mutiny. How significant was he to Vladimir Putin . To Vladimir Putin . Was very significant. To Vladimir Putin . Was very significant, they to Vladimir Putin . Was very significant, they go to Vladimir Putin . Was very significant, they go back to Vladimir Putin . Was very significant, they go back a l significant, they go back a long way, decades in st petersburg. First of the high end Restaurant Owner and this is after he of course got out of prison when he was a teenager, then as had of Internet Research Agency Responsible for Election Interference in the United States in 2016 and a number of other countries. Then as the head of wagner, the charismatic had whose troops really did the bulk of the fighting and much of ukraine including the one near siege of bakhmut which they managed to hold onto. In that sense he was important and of course started to attack the Defence Ministry a few months ago for their lacklustre conduct during the war. And he had this Populist Appeal to his followers on his Telegram Channel while their sons and brothers and husbands were fighting and dying in ukraine, the sons of the elite were sitting on beaches on the coast and enjoying themselves. That Populist Message was also seen as a threat in the kremlin. The wanner as a threat in the kremlin. The wagner groun as a threat in the kremlin. The wagner group has as a threat in the kremlin. The wagner group has been involved as you set ukraine and africa, the middle east, what the kremlins bs so whats next for the group . fist kremlins bs so whats next for the grows . The group . At the moment it looks as if the group . At the moment it looks as if they the group . At the moment it looks as if they are the group . At the moment it looks as if they are still the group . At the moment it looks as if they are still very| looks as if they are still very important in africa particularly after the niger coup which russia has now benefited from, wants to move in where the americans were. Gradually i think they will be taken over by the ministry of defence. It was the aim and what rattled prigozhin when he was told that all of the wagner troops had to sign on with the regular russian army. So there will probably be taken over but right at the moment they are still performing very important work both militarily, supporting authoritarian leaders in africa and of course making a huge amount of money on all the mineral concessions that they have in africa and other parts of the world and of course that money goes back to the kremlin as well so this is a Business Enterprise as well as a Military Enterprise and the criminal have to be careful as it seeks may be to weaken and dismantle eventually wagner. And dismantle eventually wanner. , and dismantle eventually wanner. ,. ,. Wagner. Final question. We soke wagner. Final question. We spoke to wagner. Final question. We spoke to the wagner. Final question. We spoke to the former wagner. Final question. We spoke to the former un spoke to the former un ambassador bill taylor earlier and asked him what President Putin stands on all of this in his efforts to consolidate power and he said he has not been able to consolidate power. Do you agree . I think thats true. I think that if the kremlin in fact was behind the assassination of prigozhin, i think it has to be worried about further instability because those people who supported prigozhin and support an even tougher course of the war in ukraine will not go away, there are certainly the next few weeks going to complain, criticised the kremlin, so i think this is not a sign that putin has necessarily consolidated his power father but what is meant by this is to deter others particularly in the elite from further criticising the conduct of the war in ukraine and lets see whether that particular gamble pays off. Always great to speak to you. Thanks forjoining us. Lets take a step back, and look at how Yevgeny Prigozhin rose to such an influential position in russia. Our analysis editor, ros atkins, takes a look. We know he took an unorthodox route to a powerful position in russia. In 1981, he was sent to prison for robbery and theft. And when released in 1990, he became a Hot Dog Salesman in st petersburg. But by 1997 he was running a top restaurant and winning lucrative catering contracts. Those brought connections to the top. Prigozhin even served food to world leaders. And to putin himself. And prigozhins role was becoming about much more than food. In 2014 russia Annexed Crimea and launched an insurgency in eastern ukraine. Prigozhin was involved. Of that time, hes said a group of patriots was born, which later acquired the name wagner battalion. And soon the wagner group reached far beyond ukraine. The fbi Accused Prigozhin of interfering in the 2016 us election. In syria, wagner fighters supported pro government forces. More recently there are multiple reports of wagners military and commercial activity in africa. With the eu accusing the group of committing. Torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings. And then came the war. When putin wanted to give his invasion of ukraine impetus, prigozhin and his fighters were called in. But as wagners death toll grew, so did prigozhins fury. Expressed first in video rants. And then in a short lived mutiny. In the aftermath, putin condemned the the mutineers and traitors. But for prigozhin, charges were dropped, no arrest followed. And we asked, why wasnt putin punishing prigozhin . Perhaps he was biding his time. Earlier i spoke with former Us Ambassador to nato kurt volker. He also served as us Special Representative for ukraine negotiations, engaging with senior russian counterparts to try to chart a path to peace following the kremlins 2014 invasion of ukraine and annexation of crimea. Thank you forjoining us on bbc news. I want to get your reaction to the news that we are seeing. Reaction to the news that we are seeing reaction to the news that we are seeing. First off, we know that prigozhin are seeing. First off, we know that prigozhin was are seeing. First off, we know that prigozhin was on are seeing. First off, we know that prigozhin was on the that prigozhin was on the manifest of the planet was shot down. We dont know whether he was physically on the plane that was shot down or not. We also dont know whether he was alive before the plane was shot down. So there is a that has to be an paktia. I think we do know is that putin understood that prigozhins rebellion back two months ago was a threat to his claim to lead russia and it put putin in a very weak position. So he needed to do something about that and he needed to show that he was taking prigozhin down. Thats what todays events are about, whether it is real, whether its a spectacle, its about putting putin back in charge. You have that in the past the struggle between progression and putin certainly is not over. If this is confirmed, why do you think we are seeing this happen now . Do you think we are seeing this happen now . Happen now . Prigozhin. Its important happen now . Prigozhin. Its important for happen now . Prigozhin. Its important for putin happen now . Prigozhin. Its important for putin to happen now . Prigozhin. Its important for putin to wait, important for putin to wait, choose his timing, choose his moment, and then show that he is the man and commitment. Because his claim to power in russia is really that he is the guy who is in charge, he is the guy who is in charge, he is the guy who is in charge, he is the guy who can get things done. If thatis guy who can get things done. If that is then in incredibly weak position especially because a lot of the decisions that he has made have weakened russia over time. So this is critical for him as a way of showing that he is actually the guy in charge. And i think again, as i said, we dont know what actually happened. There is a lot to unpack but the imagery here is all in favour of Vladimir Putin showing that he is the guy calling the shots. How would ukraine and nato both be looking at this . Mr; how would ukraine and nato both be looking at this . Be looking at this . My advice to the us be looking at this . My advice to the us and be looking at this . My advice to the us and nato be looking at this . My advice to the us and nato and be looking at this . My advice to the us and nato and the i be looking at this . My advice l to the us and nato and the uk as well is that this is a sideshow. This is entertaining, its interesting, it tells us something about whats going on inside russia. Power strategy should be clear and unchanged. This does not affect our strategy. Forthe this does not affect our strategy. For the us, this does not affect our strategy. Forthe us, nato, this does not affect our strategy. For the us, nato, and the uk, it is in our vital interest that ukraine defeat Russian Forces that are attacking ukraine and recover its territory, that we bring ukraine into nater and We Lockdown Security in europe again for the future. We dont want to face wars in europe indefinitely. The way to do thatis indefinitely. The way to do that is win this one hour, give them equipment they need, let them equipment they need, let them win and then lock it down by bringing them into nato and the tearing any further aggression in europe. What do did the applications aggression in europe. What do did the applications might aggression in europe. What do did the applications might be l did the applications might be for Wagner Group Fighters who have also been of course on the battlefield in ukraine . Battlefield in ukraine . Yes, i think there battlefield in ukraine . Yes, i think there is battlefield in ukraine . Yes, i think there is a battlefield in ukraine . Yes, i think there is a different think there is a different strategy here for the wagner group. What russia would like to do is reconstitute the wagner group into Something Else that is under kremlin control but is still operating independently as a Military Contractor outside of russia, so that they can do the kinds of things the Russian Military wants to deny. So there is a goal of the kremlin to preserve and external contracting Military Force that they can actually control which they cant really control wagner right now. Add separate prigozhin from that and separate some fighters from that he might be loyal to prigozhin and make them trainers in the Russian Military. So they are trying to figure out how can i get the benefit here, and some guys to make the Russian Military better, meanwhile keep a loyal external Security Force operative that the kremlin can really control. Really control. Thank you so much for really control. Thank you so much forjoining really control. Thank you so much forjoining us. Really control. Thank you so much forjoining us. Thankl really control. Thank you so i much forjoining us. Thank you much for oining us. Thank you for much forjoining us. Thank you for having much forjoining us. Thank you for having me. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. India has become only the fourth nation in history to land a craft on the surface of the moon, following the us, china, and the former soviet union. The lander from the Chandrayaan 3 mission was also the first to land in the Lunar South Pole region. Celebrations immediatley broke out across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, india is now on the moon. Two people have been arrested in pakistan over the cable car that was left dangling over a ravine after a rope broke. This is new dramatic Drone Footage from the incident. The owner and operator are being investigated for endangering lives. Six children and two adults were broughts to safety after a 12 hour rescue operation. Voting in Zimbabwes President ial and parliamentary elections has been extended for a day after accusations of ballot rigging. Only a quarter of Polling Stations opened on time in the capital, harare. 80 year old president Emmerson Mnangagwa is Seeking Re Electoin amid currerncy shortages and high unemployment. Youre live with bbc news. Turning to us politics and we have two major stories this hour one in the state of georgia, and the other in milwaukee wisconsin, where we hand over to the bbc� s Caitrionia Perry whos there. We are live here in milwaukee where eight candidates are currently on the Debate Stage Vying for their chance at becoming the 2024 republican president ial nominee. Former President Donald Trump who is the partys leading contender has decided to skip the debates. Trump instead has opted for a pre recorded interview with Ex Fox News Host Tucker Carlson which was released just minutes before the start of the debate. Well, earlier, ispoke with jason miller, a Senior Advisor in trumps inner circle, about his absence. Jason miller, Senior Advisor for former president Donaldj Trump for his campaign, thank you forjoining us this evening. I suppose the first question is why is the former presence skipping the debate . Trump had by 50 points in the republican primary, look ahead to the general election he is the only republican candidate was beating crooked joe biden, the President Trump is focusing on joe biden and we need to get this country back on track. President trump said he will not be at this debate. That is not unlike what Ronald Reagan did in his primary Campaign Years ago, but there is really no reason when you have a candidate, like President Trump, 62 in the polls, and then you have candidates like hutchinson who are less than 1 to go there and throw potshots, that is not how we are going to fix inflation and the issues going on with our country, it is a clown car. Ok, but nevertheless, wisconsin is an important state in the election. The convention will be here. Is there a risk he is offending Republican Voters by not turning up to this . No, not at all. We have had a number of republicans from milwaukee and wisconsin giving high fives and handshakes as we were entering the arena here, the outside of the arena, this definitely is trump country, theres a reason why the president is ahead in fact nobody is going to, for example, joe biden saying you need to debatejfkjunior, a little bit toasty there. President trump so far, it would be a good show, if you are 17 and zero in the regular season, why should you have around with somebody who is zero and 17 and doesnt raise on the pulse . Some of the candidates in owe him really well, Vice President mike pence, nikki haley, chris christie, what if they decide to attack him and he is not here to defend himself . I think the biggest challenge, President Trump can handle himself and he can definitely whisper, but i think the challenge a lot of these candidates have is what is it that gives them a Value Proposition for why they are running . You look at the entire field, nobody has said something that really distinguishes themselves or make them step out from the rest of the pack, particularly on policy ideas. And to the extent policy comes up this evening they will be talking effectively is a cheap imitation of President Trump. Are you not looking to any of these eight people as possible be vp candidates . I would never take that of the table, they would be the quickest way to become a former Senior Advisor to present troubles of there are several people we really like. Any names . I personally am a fan of the swami, he will have a good night tonight, senator tim scott, someone like, ron desantis, the number to canada, he is dropping like a rock, he is on the fifth reboot of his campaign with a new spokesman he has announced. It is not going so well for ron desantis so he doesnt have a good night tonight. So that cheers causing him to drop out of the race will intensify. Donald trump has recorded an interview with Tucker Carlson they will error the same time, starting five minutes beforehand, what can we expect from that . I think you will have tens of millions more people watching Donald Trumps interview with Tucker Carlson. President trump is where the ratings is, where the action is. President trump has already won tonights republican debate. He casts a shadow. Can you win something if you dont turn up though . He has already won. We will have tens of millions more viewers, whether it is the Fox News Question is of the other candidates, they will spend the entire time talking about President Trump. They want to be President Trump. They cannot be President Trump. President trump can beat joe biden, the other ones cant. Last question, the president has recorded that interview, you will not be, will he be watching on tv . Not sure. The president has not told us exactly what he is doing, he is an bedminster, newjersey. We will see. A believe that he will be watching the one he does with Tucker Carlson, which will get tens of millions of years, think that is what will drive the news tonight. Jason, Senior Advisor with the trump campaign, thank you very much. You heard us talking about mr trumps interview with Tucker Carlson there and trump has himself spoken about his decision not to attend the republican debate. Have a listen. Why arent you at the fox news debate in milwaukee . People have been asking me that, many said you shouldnt be doing it, polls come out and i am leading by 50 and 60 points and some of them are at one and zero and two and im saying to sit there for an hour or two hours or whatever its going to be and get harassed by people that shouldnt even be running for president , should i be doing that . In georgia, where more of former us President Trumps 18 Co Conspirators in the alleged plot to overturn his 2020 election defeat have turned themselves in. Trumps former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and trumps election lawyer, Sidney Powell turned themselves in and were released on bond. Theyjoin a growing list of Co Defendeants who have surrendered ahead of the friday deadline set by the Fulton Country attorney general. Donald trump is expected to turn himself in on thursday. Along with trump, former New York City mayor giuliani faces the most charges of the 19 co defendants. His bond was set at 150,000. Giuliani was met with a chaotic scene as he was leaving the atlanta courthouse. He called the case, an attack on the American People and came out strong against fulton countys District Attorney fani willis. She has violated peoples First Amendment right to advocate the government, to petition the government over an election they believe was poorly or falsely conducted. People have a right to believe that in america. Biden and the biden state doesnt have a right to tell you what the truth is. Thats all from here in milwaukee, well be here next hour with a special hour long edition on the debate. Sumi, back to you in dc. And for the latest news and analysis from the republican president ial debate. Check out our website. Well have the best moments, the key takewaways, and the latest from our colleagues in milwaukee and beyond. Thats at bbc. Com news. You can find all the latest there. We also have continuing coverage of our top story tonight, what looks to be Vladimir Putin and the russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin reported to have been killed. We are continuing to cover that story as well. The footage we have seen it has been verified by the bbc shows the moment, if we can pull those pictures up again, the wagner Group Privatejet those pictures up again, the wagner Group Private jet herald to earth around 300 kilometres, 20 miles north west of moscow. Here we are seeing images of the mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. These are images, file images, we understand according to russian officials that mr prigozhin was on a list of passengers on this jet that crashed in russia earlier today. According to those Civil Aviation authorities, that jet those Civil Aviation authorities, thatjet crashed as it was taking off from moscow to Saint Petersburg about halfway through that flight. These are images the bbc has been able to verify. What we have not been able to verifyjust what we have not been able to verify just get what we have not been able to verifyjust get is what we heard from Emergency Services in russia that ten bodies were recovered from that crash site. Here we are seeing images of the crash site. We have not been able to verify the ten bodies russian Emergency Services have reported they are. We are working on that. We will continue to bring you the latest on that story and one more note also from milwaukee, there was a one candidate who really made onto the stage tonight, doug burgum was injured while Playing Pascoe bought earlier today. Putting because the big appearance into question. Thank you for watching. Hello. Well, it has been quite warm in the last few days, but nothing compared to whats been happening south of the English Channel in france and spain. Temperatures recently hit 44 celsius. And for france, a record for august. This is the anomaly map, so the orange colours show temperatures higher than average, the blue colours lower than average. But watch what happens when that jet stream takesa dip. This trough develops and pushes the heat further towards the east of europe, and the temperatures tend to ease somewhat anyway. And we have cooler weather on the way over the next few days for our neck of the woods. In fact, right now, you can see the jet streams right over us, clouds circling, an area of low pressure bringing some showers. There could be some thunderstorms early in the morning. But with low pressure in charge and these northerly winds riding around this western flank of the low, the temperatures are set to drop by a few degrees by the time we get to friday and certainly the weekend. So the outlook is things turning a little bit cooler, but therell be some sunshine around with occasional showers. Heres the forecast then for early thursday, some rain there across northern and eastern scotland, showers elsewhere and also eyes towards the south, thunderstorms could be breaking out early in the morning as well. But its a very mild start to the day, 12 celsius in glasgow, possibly even 17 celsius on the south coast. Now on these thunderstorms, really vicious storms for a time, potentially across the channel islands, crossing the channel, heading roughly to the isle of wight, and then affecting the east, the south east that is, of england. We do think that they will probably veer off towards the east northeast, so missing most of the south east of england. And i think anyway, for many of us through the course of thursday, it is going to be a mixture of sunny spells and showers. So most of us will not get the storms on thursday. Temperatures, 17 celsius in glasgow, about 18 celsius in liverpool. Still holding onto some of that warmth there in the southeast, 24 celsius. And then on friday, if you look at the wind arrows, heres the clue, the air� s coming in from the north. Sunny spells and showers, those temperatures around 16 17 celsius in scotland. In the south, 19 21 celsius, and i think well lose some of that humidity, so it wont feel quite as warm. And here is the outlook through the weekend and into next week cooler. Bye bye. Much forjoining us. Thank you for having me. Voiceover this is bbc news. We will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. History is thankfully, and finally, beginning to accord a rightful place to those men and women