VOA慢速英语2023--Explosion Likely Brought Down Wagner Chief's Plane

Explosion Likely Brought Down Wagner Chief's Plane

Intelligence officials from the United States and Western countries believe that an explosion brought down the plane presumed to carry Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and others.

One of the officials told the Associated Press that the explosion was in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin's "long history of trying to silence his critics." The official was not permitted to comment publicly and did not want to be named.

Russian officials have not officially confirmed the identity of those who died on the private plane. However, President Putin expressed sympathy on Thursday to the families of those who were reportedly on the plane. He also spoke¹ of Prigozhin, saying, "He made some serious mistakes in life, but he also achieved necessary results."

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he did not know what happened, but he said, "I'm not surprised." He added, "There's not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind."

The mutiny

Prigozhin founded the Wagner group. It is an organization of fighters based in St. Petersburg who offer their services for money and are not officially linked to the Russian military. The fighters were known to support military leaders in Africa and the Middle East.

They had also been supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. But Prigozhin criticized Putin and his military leaders and launched what was called a mutiny earlier this year.

On June 23 and 24, he and his soldiers moved against Russia's leaders, shooting down aircraft and started a convoy² of military vehicles targeting Moscow.

The anti-Putin move ended when the two men reached a deal that permitted Prigozhin to go to Belarus. Reports, however, said he was able to move safely and freely between Russia, Belarus and parts of Africa. He appeared at a meeting between Russia and African nations in St. Petersburg in July.

Many wondered why Prigozhin seemed safe after moving against Putin. Other opponents of the Russian president had been sickened, killed or imprisoned³ in the past.

On Wednesday, rescue workers found 10 bodies, which included members of the Wagner group and the airplane crew.

Russian media reports said Prigozhin was on the plane, citing unnamed people. The lights on the group's main building in St. Petersburg were lit in the shape of a cross overnight. By Thursday, supporters made a small memorial with red and white flowers and Wagner Group flags.

There was no official statement from Russia's leaders on the crash or its cause. However, Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation agency, published a list of those on board and it included Prigozhin.

A reporter from the Reuters news agency went to the place of the crash on Thursday and spoke to people who said they heard a loud sound before seeing the airplane fall to the ground.

One person, Anatoly, said he heard "a metallic⁴ bang" and not the kind of noise from a thunderstorm. Part of the plane's tail and other wreckage⁵ were seen on the ground.

Flight information services showed the plane flying normally until it disappeared from radar⁶.

Prigozhin supporters called him "a hero" on messaging services. They said the flight had either been shot down by a missile or destroyed by a bomb on board. Those claims have not been verified, and Russian officials say they are investigating the crash.

Words in This Story

presume –v. to think something is true without knowing that it is

mutiny –n. when a group of people under the command of an officer, such as sailors or soldiers, take control away from the person who commands them and refuse to do their duty

convoy –n. a long line of vehicles traveling together often for protection

cite –v. to write, say or report the words of someone else, especially in news or educational report

verify –v. to prove that something is true or correct

 

coincidence –n. when two things happen at the same time but are not connected to each other

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

3 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

4 metallic   

adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的

参考例句：

• A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me.外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
• He picked up a metallic ring last night.昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。

5 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

6 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。