The leader of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, has made headlines due to the crash and death of him in his private plane.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the self-proclaimed interim president of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, at the Kremlin.
During the meeting, Putin commented on the crash of the private jet that was reported to have crashed in the Tver region, resulting in the death of Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner. Putin said, "First of all, I want to express my condolences to the families of all the victims of this plane crash; it's always a tragedy. Preliminary data suggests that Wagner employees were also on the plane."
Putin emphasized that Wagner had made significant contributions in the fight against the "neo-Nazi regime" in Ukraine and stated, "We know this, we remember, and we will not forget."
Describing his acquaintance with Prigozhin since the early 1990s, Putin said, "Prigozhin had a complex fate but was a talented man with significant mistakes in his life. Recently, as in the past, he achieved the necessary results for himself when he needed them, and he did it for a common purpose."
Putin mentioned Prigozhin's successes not only in Russia but also in various regions around the world, particularly in Africa. He stated, "He was a talented businessman, not only in our country but also abroad, especially in Africa. He dealt with oil, gas, precious metals, and gems. He returned from Africa yesterday and had meetings with some officials here."
Putin assured that necessary investigations regarding the crashed plane in the Tver region would be conducted. He said, "The chairman of the Investigative Committee reported to me this morning. The Investigative Committee has initiated a preliminary investigation into the plane crash in Tver, and it will be followed through to the end. I have no doubt about it. We'll see what the investigators will say in the near future. It will take some time."
