The Russian president praised the Wagner chief’s accomplishments as western officials say the paramilitary group most likely fell victim to an assassination plot.
Vladimir Putin has paid tribute to Russian warlord and rebellion leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, while western officials investigating the circumstances of his demise say the Wagner paramilitary group most likely fell victim to an assassination plot.
The incident occurred two months to the day Wagner mercenaries marched towards Moscow in a short-lived attempt to overthrow the Putin regime. The Russian government has said it is investigating the cause of the crash, but hasn’t offered an explanation. Social-media channels close to Prigozhin’s Wagner have claimed that the aircraft was downed by a Russian military antiaircraft missile.
Putin said Prigozhin was a “talented businessman not just in our country, but he got results in Africa, where he was into oil, gas, precious stones, and metals.” He said Prigozhin had “just got back from Africa yesterday, as far as I know, and met here with certain officials,” without elaborating., 53, a former special forces intelligence lieutenant who helped found Wagner with Prigozhin and lead forces in Syria, Ukraine in 2014 and elsewhere.
Prigozhin and his group are accused of numerous brutal war crimes in Ukraine and also in parts of the Middle East and Africa where they have operated. But the warlord was popular with some in Russia for his battlefield successes in Ukraine and his straight-talking critique of the army leadership. Several Telegram channels affiliated to Wagner Group posted a video showing a fighter in Wagner uniform kneeling and crying before a makeshift shrine outside a former Wagner office in Novosibirsk, a city in southern Russia.
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