Prigozhin was 'talented man' but 'made serious mistakes,' says Putin on Wagner chief's death

Russian president Vladimir Putin issued a statement confirming the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on Thursday. He sent his condolences to the family while adding that he was a "talented" man but made "serious mistakes in life."

Prigozhin, who led a rebellion against Putin in June this year, died in a plane crash along with nine other passengers on Wednesday. The 62-year-old was travelling in a private plane when it crashed between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. All 10 people on board died, including three crew members.

"First of all, I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of all the victims, this is always a tragedy," said the Russian president

"He was a man of difficult fate, and he made serious mistakes in life, and he achieved the results needed both for himself and when I asked him about it – for a common cause, as in these last months," he added.

Putin also confirmed that Wagner Group employees were also on board the plane. The crash happened exactly two months after Prigozhin and Wagner led a rebellion against Putin.

Prigozhin's men had been at the forefront of the Russian assault in eastern Ukraine for months. The armed rebellion led by him had sparked a crisis in Russia, but Vladimir Putin somehow managed to get out of the crisis as the rebels stood down after striking a deal with the Kremlin, writes Reuters.

Russian authorities have launched an investigation into the matter, and Putin has promised that the probe "will be carried out in full and brought to completion."

The first statement confirming Prigozhin's death had come from Russia's aviation agency, Rosaviatsia. Putin took his time to respond to the development.

The Wagner chief's death is the latest in a string of such incidents that have been reported in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine last year in February. A number of prominent Russians have died in unexplained circumstances over the last year. A majority of these deaths were deemed accidental, like falling out of windows or down the stairs.

According to local media reports, at least 20 prominent Russians have died since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. It now remains to be seen if anyone ever finds out what caused the plane crash.

Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden and Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak have suggested Putin's involvement in Prigozhin's death.

"I don't know for a fact what happened, but I'm not surprised," the US president said. "There's not much that happens in Russia that Putin's not behind. But I don't know enough to know the answer."

Ukraine has called the plane crash "a signal from Putin to Russia's elites ahead of the 2024 elections. 'Beware! Disloyalty equals death'."