Russian President Vladimir Putin has at least indirectly confirmed the death of mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. On Thursday he condoled to the family of the Wagner boss who was allegedly killed in a plane crash. We’ll see what the investigators find out, Putin said. This could take time.
Putin called Prigozhin a “talented person,” Russian agencies reported on Thursday. “He was a person with a difficult fate and he made serious mistakes,” Putin said. At the same time, the businessman and mercenary leader achieved results – for himself and for the common cause. Putin carefully formulated that, according to initial findings, a plane carrying members of Wagner’s private army had crashed the previous evening. Wagner made an important contribution to the fighting in Ukraine that will not be forgotten.
Previously, Putin had gone through with his political appointments, visibly unimpressed by the crash. When the reports of the death of the leader of the private army Wagner in the Tver region rolled over, he proudly commemorated the victorious battle 80 years ago during the Second World War in the Kursk region on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, the 70-year-old took part in the Brics summit in Johannesburg via video.
And while the whole world was puzzling over who or what caused the Embraer 600 to crash and the eyes of the international community were on Putin, the Kremlin was silent for what felt like an eternity. The death of Prigozchin and his Wagner leadership, including commander Dmitri Utkin, has not been officially confirmed.
A forensic examination with genetic analyzes is to clarify whether the ten names published on a passenger list by the aviation authority Rosawiazija correspond to the remains of the people found on the ground. Investigators are investigating whether an explosive device on board may have caused the plane to crash or whether safety rules were violated.
More soon on SZ.de