Vladimir Putin sends ‘condolences’ to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s household
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ladimir Putin has despatched his condolences to the households of these killed a airplane crash by which Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is reported to have died.
The Russian president described Mr Prigozhin as a “talented businessman” in a televised tackle.
He mentioned Russia will look into what investigators say concerning the crash, however additional particulars on the incident will take time.
President Putin mentioned Mr Prigozhin’s Wagner group had “made a significant contribution” throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We remember this and won’t forget it. I knew Prigozhin from a long time, from the early 1900s. He had a difficult path and made serious mistakes in his life. But he got results – for himself, and for the common cause when I asked him, like in the last few months,” he mentioned.
His feedback come 24 hours after the jet crashed simply north of Moscow.
Some Western consultants consider that President Putin might have ordered the crash in an assassination of Mr Wagner after he led a current mutiny towards Russia’s navy.
US President Joe Biden has already mentioned that there’s little that occurs in Russia that Mr Putin will not be behind and the previous MI6 boss Sir John Sawers at this time mentioned it appeared that the Russian chief had ordered the strike.
“All the indications point to the fact that Putin has taken him out… he is making clear to everyone both inside Russia and outside that he’s not going to brook any challenge,” Sir John mentioned.
“I would have thought there was some device on board that brought the plane down suddenly and killed all those on board. It was a way of taking out the entire Wagner leadership in one go.”
Other stories have advised that two floor to air missiles might need been used to carry Prigozhin’s airplane down and BBC Monitoring’s Russia editor Vitaly Shevkenko mentioned he had “seen a number of video clips filmed by eyewitnesses who said that they had heard two explosions and they drew the conclusion that the aircraft had been shot out of the sky.”
Ministry of Defence sources had been at this time cited as believing that Russia’s FSB safety service was most definitely to be behind Prigozhin’s dying.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned earlier his nation was not concerned within the crash however “everybody realises who has something to do with it”.
The jet downed quickly after taking off from Moscow on Wednesday, with the Wagner chief on board alongside together with his right-hand-man Dmitry Utkin, Russia’s civil aviation authority has mentioned.
They are each presumed lifeless, together with eight others on board, Russian media has reported, two months after they staged a mutiny that dented President Putin’s authority.
Russia’s civil aviation company mentioned that Mr Prigozhin and 6 prime lieutenants had been on the enterprise jet with a crew of three when it crashed.
Rescuers discovered 10 our bodies, and Russian media cited nameless sources in Wagner who mentioned Mr Prigozhin was lifeless.
There has been no official affirmation.
Jet crash in Kuzhenkino
/ TELEGRAM/ @grey_zone/AFP through GetMr Zelensky mentioned on Thursday: “We had nothing to do with it. Everybody realises who has something to do with it.”
He additionally appeared to reference his ongoing requests from Western allies for battle planes, to assist Ukraine’s navy efforts towards Russia’s invasion.
Mr Zelensky mentioned on Thursday: “When Ukraine approached the world about planes, we didn’t mean this. We had something completely different in mind and wanted support. Although maybe even this will definitely help in a certain sense.”
It comes as Norway introduced it should donate US-made F-16 fight plane to Ukraine, becoming a member of an effort led by the Netherlands and Denmark.
Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere introduced the donation throughout a go to to Kyiv on Thursday.
F-16s have been on Ukraine’s want checklist for a very long time due to their harmful energy and world availability. The fighter jet is provided with a 20mm cannon and may carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
Meanwhile police cordoned off the sector the place the jet went down in Kuzhenkino, about 185 miles northwest of Moscow, as investigators studied its wreckage on Thursday. Vehicles took away the our bodies.
It was not clear why a number of high-ranking members of Wagner, together with prime leaders who’re usually cautious about their safety, had been on the identical flight.
At Wagner’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, lights had been turned on within the form of a giant cross, and Prigozhin supporters constructed a makeshift memorial, piling purple and white flowers exterior the constructing, together with firm flags and candles.
Mr Putin had earlier remained silent on the crash whereas he addressed the BRICS summit in Johannesburg through video hyperlink.
Ukraine on Thursday marked its second Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with officers vowing to maintain up their combat to drive out the Kremlin’s forces and native individuals remembering their fallen family members.
The nationwide vacation coincided with the battle’s 18-month milestone, giving a somber temper to the commemorations.
“We remember everyone who gave their lives for freedom and independence, for the free future of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky mentioned in a social media put up.
He mentioned that an impartial Ukraine is “what we are fighting for.”