Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, was died in a plane crash on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his “condolences” and referred to him as a man who “achieved results” while making mistakes.
The cause of Wednesday’s disaster, which occurred precisely two months after Wagner’s brief uprising against Moscow’s military government, is currently being looked into.
“First of all I want to express words of sincere condolences to the families of all the victims,” Putin said in a televised meeting, calling the incident a “tragedy”.
“I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 90s. He was a man of complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in his life, but he achieved the right results,” Putin added.
He said that an investigation had been launched into the crash, and that “it will take some time”.
“It will be conducted in full and brought to a conclusion. There is no doubt about that,” Putin said, in footage showing a meeting with the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region Denis Pushilin.
The crash’s circumstances, which resulted in the deaths of some members of Prigozhin’s close group of followers, have sparked vehement rumours about a potential assassination.
