'EXPECT US' Wagner group make chilling revenge threat to Putin after jet carrying their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin exploded

THE Wagner mercenary group made a chilling revenge threat hours after Putin's enemy Yevgeny Prigozhin was reportedly blown out the sky in a fireball jet crash.

It comes exactly two months after the rebel warlord's failed coup - and it has already sparked fears of another.

As dawn breaks in Russia, it has led to frenzied speculation about what may happen next as the Kremlin remains tight-lipped.

Both Wagner and Moscow sources have claimed Prigozhin is dead - but in the cloak and dagger of Russia, there has been no official confirmation.

The bodies of all ten people who died in the fiery crash have been taken to a morgue for forensic examination.

According to reports, Prigozhin's phone has been found among the wreckage.

"We directly say that we suspect the Kremlin officials led by Putin of an attempt to kill him.

"If the information about Prigozhin's death is confirmed, we will organize a second "March of Justice" on Moscow! He'd better be alive, it's in your own interests...."

Flowers and patches of the Wagner logo have since been left at a memorial in front of the PMC Wagner Centre in St Petersburg.

Footage showed the aircraft spiralling towards the ground from 28,000ft, with smoke pouring from the fuselage.

Seconds later snaps of the aftermath showed the mangled wreckage of the white Embraer Legacy 600 business jet in a fiery heap.

It went up in flames just 31 miles from Putin's lavish palace at Valdai, northern Russia, killing all ten onboard.

In one clip snapped by a witness of the plane plummeting to the ground, they could be heard commentating on the horror unfolding before their eyes.

One person could be heard saying: “A plane fell out of the sky. The pilot ejected, something is swirling in the air, do you see some part of it?

“It was flying fine, and exploded. Something is swirling in the air. The explosion was so strong…. and then it plunged and look, it’s burning….."

Local residents claimed they'd heard "two large explosions" before the jet plummeted from the sky in Tver region.

Sniffer dogs have been used to check the aircraft - which was reduced to mere charred remains.

It is understood Wagner Group plunders diamonds, gold, oil, and gas from countries in which they operate - as well as being paid directly by crooked regimes.

And on top of his other businesses, this had inflated Prigozhin's wealth to extraordinary levels - with some estimates putting his personal fortune as much as £2billion.

In footage of the crash, another jet flying nearby appeared to be taking evasive action as if dodging a ground-to-air missile and turned back as Prigozhin’s jet fell.

The crash was believed to have been caused after the plane was hit by such a missile.

But speculation on Russian social media claims explosives had been loaded into the private jet hidden inside an "expensive wine" crate.

Meanwhile, UK security sources told the Daily Telegraph the aircraft had been downed by Russia’s domestic intelligence agency the FSB - on Putin's orders.

It comes after at least 40 high profile Russian figures have mysteriously died since Putin launched his bloody war in Ukraine over a year ago

Experts believe Putin appears to be presiding over a "mafia" state where murder is a tool used to defeat his enemies and to scare his uneasy allies into keeping in line.

Prigozhin flew to Moscow for an unknown reason after returning from Africa - and it is unknown if he was summoned there by the Kremlin.

As the plane plummeted from the sky, Putin addressed crowds to celebrate the anniversary of victory in the Kursk battle in WWII.

The shameless tyrant handed out medals to troops as it was reported his enemy had been killed.

However, it was reported he had quickly left Kursk after the ceremony.

Chilling footage emerged of Putin saying he can't forgive betrayal.

When asked "Are you able to forgive", he responded: "Yes, but not everything."

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said last night: “I’m not surprised. There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.”

Fingers were also being pointed at senior figures in Russia’s military angry that the thuggish mercenary chief had not been punished sooner for his betrayal.

How Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin went from ‘Putin’s chef’ to Wagner rebel

WARLORD, tycoon, and Putin's greatest enemy, Yevgeny Prigozhin rose through the ranks to control Russia’s mercenary army before dying in a fireball private jet crash.

The man, dubbed "Putin's favourite chef" had furiously elbowed his way to a bigger seat at the Kremlin's table and experts have long predicted his eyes were set on the top job.

Almost foretelling the current events, Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon told The Sun Online last month: "Prigozhin seems to have the gloves off at the moment.

"And in an almost Roman-type way he has an army that could march into the Kremlin and take over."

A former gangster, his rise to power seems to have a lot to do with hefty ambition and a murky past conducted in the backrooms of the Kremlin as he rode the waves of Putin’s favour all the way to the top.

One of Russia's most powerful men before his death, he commanded a private army of more than 50,000 men stationed in Ukraine alone, and had a fortune thought to be in millions if not billions.

The paid killer group he founded back in 2014 acts as a de facto militia in some of Ukraine's bloodiest battles and equals the strength of quarter of Russia's entire army.

As Russia invaded Ukraine last February, Prigozhin stepped out of the shadows to wage war on Ukraine with his private military outlet, taking the leading role in the bloody battle for Bakhmut.

Pictures revealed a life of extraordinary wealth spent on private jets, super-yachts and flash cars, and a decade-old past spent skulking in the background of the upper-most echelons of world politics.

Ever-reckless, Prigozhin had been ramping up his brazen attacks on senior Russian military leadership and more veiled threats on Putin himself.

Not long ago, he openly raged against his former patron - appearing to call the 70-year-old "grandpa" and a "complete a**hole", before later denying he was talking about Vlad.

He then took full-credit for Russia's alleged capture of Bakhmut, ignoring the role of the formal Russian army in the battle.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed ten people - including seven passengers and three crew - were killed in the smash.

The plane was said to have crashed as it flew from the Moscow region.

It is understood Prigozhin and his staff had flown to Russia from Africa on Wednesday.

Putin's former lapdog staged an armed insurrection on June 23 with the stated aim to oust Russia's military leaders as he turned on the top brass in Moscow.

However, the steaming rebellion was blown out after Prigozhin struck a bitter deal with Putin putting an end to an astonishing 36-hours that saw Wagner forces reach within 125 miles of the capital.

Progozhin had been thought to be living on borrowed time for weeks and was reported to have stayed in a hotel with no windows in neighbouring Belarus.

Ruthless warlord Prigozhin was estimated to be a billionaire with a huge yacht, and a private plane, among other luxuries.

British officials admited the vicious Wagner group's finances were "opaque and obscure" - but have said Prigozhin was known to make his money from dodgy government contracts and natural resources.