Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, expressed his sympathies to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s family in his first public remark following the sad accident of Prigozhin’s aircraft. Two months prior, Prigozhin launched a coup against the army generals that sparked controversy in Russia. Although this information is still being investigated. The anonymous U.S. Officials made their statements without any supporting details.
Although a criminal inquiry into the incident has been opened by Russian authorities, Moscow has not yet provided any formal information about its causes. Prior to Putin’s remarks, the only evidence of Prigozhin’s demise was a statement made by the aviation authorities confirming his participation in the tragic flight.
President Putin finally commented on the situation, calling Yevgeny Prigozhin a brilliant businessman, he had known since the 1990s. Putin highlighted that gathering the facts for the crash inquiry will take time. The 62-year-old Prigozhin was well-known for being the head of the Wagner mercenary gang. He became well-known for openly criticizing the military’s leadership in Russia.
Putin virtually addressed the attendees of the BRICS conference in South Africa, including his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. They made no mention of the plane tragedy, which apparently claimed the lives of ten people. The incident has received only scant publicity in Russian state media. When it crashed in the Tver region, the elite Embraer Legacy 600 plane was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
Authorities are reportedly exploring the possibility that one or two bombs were installed aboard the airplane, according to reliable sources inside the law enforcement community. The involvement of Prigozhin in a mutiny against army command in June raised worries about possible social upheaval in Russia. He allegedly signed a deal to go to Belarus, but he continued to operate within Russian borders.
Prigozhin had been a vocal opponent of Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine. He even made an attempt to topple Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Sergei Shoigu, the minister of defence. Prigozhin recently participated in a conference between Russia and Africa in St. Petersburg and posted a video speech from Africa.