Russian President Vladimir Putin did not confirm the death of Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in his remarks but said the mercenary chief “had a difficult fate.”
“He made serious mistakes in his life,” Putin said, though he acknowledged Wagner’s role assisting Russia’s goals in Ukraine.
Putin also expressed his “sincere condolences” to the victims of the plane crash that reportedly killed Prigozhin and said an investigation into the incident was ongoing.
The business jet crashed about 100 miles from Moscow on Wednesday with Prigozhin, his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and eight others on board, Russia’s civilian aviation agency said.
There has been no other confirmation besides the passenger list for Prigozhin and Utkin’s death.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but several outlets reported that an internal explosion may have brought the aircraft down.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. believes Prigozhin died but declined to comment on whether he was intentionally killed.
“Our initial assessment, based on a variety of factors, is that he was likely killed,” Ryder said at a press briefing.
Wagner-affiliated social media accounts have been mourning the loss of Prigozhin and Utkin, sharing pictures and videos of the pair on Telegram.
Russia has moved to dismantle Wagner Group since Prigozhin launched a June rebellion, marching on Moscow with thousands of troops before halting the advance.
The deal that stopped the rebellion allowed the mercenary leader to exile to Belarus in return for Putin dropping terrorism charges.
Peter Doran, an adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Prigozhin’s death was “guaranteed” following the aborted armed rebellion.
“By eliminating Prigozhin, which Putin has almost certainly done,” Doran wrote in an analysis sent to The Hill, “Russia’s president wishes for the world to recall Vladimir Lenin’s famed insight: ‘If one shoots at a king, one must not miss. And if an insurrection is begun, it is death to fail.’
“Prigozhin failed.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
