President Vladimir Putin of Russia, has reacted to the presumed death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, in a jet crash.
Information Nigeria had reported that Russia’s agency for air transport said Prigozhin, was among the passengers of a flight that crashed and burst into flames on Wednesday.
Putin in a televised speech on Thursday, said he was told about the plane crash and extended his condolences to the victims’ families, saying Prigozhin “was a talented businessman.”
He further called his one-time ally, Prigozhin, “a person with a complicated fate.”
While seemingly referencing his failed mutiny, the Russian Leader added that Prigozhin “made serious mistakes in life.”
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He said, “This was a person with a complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in life but also sought to achieve the necessary results – both for himself and at a time when I asked him to, for the common cause, such as in these recent months.”
The Russian president said investigators would look into what happened but added that it would take time.
“They have already launched a preliminary investigation into this incident. And it will be carried out in full and to the end. There is no doubt about that here. Let’s see what the investigators say in the near future. Tests — technical and genetic tests — are being carried out now. This takes some time,” he said.
Prigozhin had led a failed uprising against Putin in a move analysts said was the biggest threat to the Russian president’s rule since he assumed power in 1999.
Putin described the mutiny as a “stab in the back” vowing that the organisers would face justice.
