A deadly plane crash appears to have killed Wagner's top boss, but even without Prigozhin, the group likely isn't a 'chicken with its head cut off,' expert says

• Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have died in a plane crash on August 23. 
• Without Prigozhin, Wagner's key operations, finances, and future are unclear, experts told Insider.
• But experts said it's unlikely Russia will give up the group's global networks. Instead, it will likely centralize them.

With the group's top boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, presumed dead in a plane crash, Russia's mercenary Wagner forces are facing an unprecedented period of uncertainty — moreso than after a failed mutiny against Russian military leadership in June severely weakened the group.