Vladimir Putin promises to investigate the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group

Russian Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was leader of the Wagner group for almost ten years, was killed on Wednesday when his plane crashed unexpectedly. It was soon learned that all of the plane’s occupants had been killed, including the mercenary boss.

Vladimir Putin, who had a long history with Prigozhin, did not immediately comment on the moral accident. He just did that today and promised to “thoroughly” investigate his death.

Prigozhin was “a man with a complicated destiny, who made serious mistakes in his life, but who got the results he wanted,” Putin said in a televised speech, also expressing his “sincere condolences” to the family of the plane crash victims.

Putin’s statement, who called what happened a “tragedy”, was the first official confirmation that Wagner’s boss had died.

The incident took place exactly two months after Prigozhin’s failed uprising against the Russian General Staff, fueling speculation about a possible Kremlin-orchestrated assassination.

Russian authorities opened an investigation on Thursday into the causes of the accident, citing a “violation of air transport safety rules”, but did not provide specific clues.

But abroad and on social networks, different officials hinted that Prigozhin’s death may have been plotted by the Kremlin.

“It is no coincidence that all eyes turn to the Kremlin when a disgraced ex-Putin aide literally suddenly falls from the sky two months after he rebelled,” said German diplomat Annalena Baerbock.

On 24 June, Prigozhin staged an uprising against Russian General Staff and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, seizing southern Russian barracks and marching on Moscow.

During the uprising, Putin did not hide his anger and accused his former ally of “betrayal”.

But the uprising was interrupted that same day, after an agreement provided for Prigozhin to leave for Belarus and for Wagner’s militiamen to join the regular Russian army.

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