Vladimir Putin: I am saddened by Prigozhin's death but he made 'mistakes'

In the period of less than 24 hours after the announcement of the private plane crash in which the leader of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard, and while the silence of the authorities has been witnessed in Russia, Vladimir Putin has broken the silence and expressed his sadness at the death of "a person who made a mistake ". The President of Russia has expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims of the accident. In his televised speech, Putin said investigators will look into what happened, but that will take time. Reportedly with Prigozhin on the plane was his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin, along with five other members of Wagner and three crew members. "I have known Prigozhin for a long time, since the early 1990s," Putin said in a televised address. In a clear reference to Wagner's rebellion in June, Putin continues: "This was a man with a difficult fate, and he made big mistakes in life, but he also sought to achieve important results, himself and when I asked him to do so, for ordinary reasons, such as in these recent months."

"Preliminary figures show that employees of the Wagner company were on the plane," Putin admits. "I would like to note that these are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine," he continues. The fire burning after the plane that was carrying the leader of Wagner crashed. We remember it and we know it, and we will not forget it." Putin has repeatedly claimed the presence of neo-Nazis in Ukraine as justification for his invasion of neighboring countries, a claim that has been denied. The leader of the Wagner militia , Yevgeny Prigozhin was reported to have passed away in a plane crash in northwestern Russia. It should be noted that Wagner's forces were transferred to Belarus in June this year after a rebellion broke out against the Russian government. The group of Wagner militias that were heavily involved in the war in Ukraine they rebelled and took control of the city of Rostov-on Don and began to move towards the capital Moscow, before an agreement was reached that ended their rebellion.