Almost twenty-four hours after the incident, Vladimir Putin has broken the silence maintained by the Kremlin and the Russian authorities regarding the death of Yevgeni Prigozhin and nine other people when a private plane traveling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg crashed in circumstances that are not yet clear. clear.
Putin, who had just met with Denis Pushilin, the pro-Russian leader of Donetsk, had words of praise for Wagner's boss, as well as for the rest of the people who accompanied him. “I would like to point out that these are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. We remember it, we know it and we will not forget it," the Russian president said.
Afterwards, Putin offered his condolences to the family and expanded on the figure of Prigozhin. “I have known Prigozhin for a long time, since the early nineties. He was a man with a difficult destiny and his mistakes were serious in life, he was looking for the results he needed, both for himself and, when I asked him, for a common cause, as in these last months. He was a talented man, a talented businessman."
The Russian president also pointed out that they plan to carry the investigation to the end. In the last few hours, all kinds of hypotheses have been considered. Among the most widespread, the launch of a possible ground-to-air missile on the device.
Putin's words represent an acknowledgment of his longstanding relationship with Prigozhin (with whom he coincided in his years in the St. Petersburg city council), as well as his contribution to the president's policy with the creation of the Wagner group. Putin highlights his ability as a businessman, and at the same time thanks him for his participation in the war in Ukraine, where Wagner's participation was crucial for the Battle of Bakhmut, among others.
According to all indications, Prigozhin died when a private plane that was supposed to take him to St. Petersburg crashed on Wednesday afternoon. He was accompanied on the flight by Dmitry Utkin, his right-hand man in the military, known for his neo-Nazi sympathies and for having named the group of mercenaries. Also traveling with him was Valeri Tchekalov, who held an important position in the group's financial network.
As explained by the president himself, Wagner's boss "had just returned" from Africa on Wednesday. In fact, Prigoghin's last public appearance is from this week, where he recorded a video (presumably on this continent) where he claimed to want to bring Russia's power to all of Africa.
