Putin's first statement after Prigozhin's plane crash

Mr Putin's comments show that he has mixed views about Mr Prigozhin.

Investigators in Russia have opened an inquiry into the incident, but have yet to say what they suspect caused the plane to suddenly crash northwest of Moscow on Wednesday morning.

They have also not officially identified the 10 bodies recovered from the scene.

US officials said Washington was evaluating several theories about what caused the plane to crash, including the possibility that a surface-to-air missile was used.

On Thursday, the US Department of Defense confirmed that there was no information to support the theory that a surface-to-air missile shot down the plane.

The death of Mr. Prigozhin further strengthens the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, removing a powerful person who organized the coup against him on June 23-24.

But it also robs the Kremlin of a powerful and shrewd individual who served the Kremlin well, sending his organization's soldiers into the bloodiest battles in Ukraine and bolstering Russia's interests in Africa, where operations may now need to be restructured.

Questions remain about how Wagner soldiers responded. Some have suggested retaliation.

In pledging a thorough investigation, Mr Putin said that according to “preliminary data”, Mr Prigozhin and several Wagner employees were on board. Passenger lists showed that key Wagner leadership were also on board and were all killed.

Mr Putin paid tribute to the mercenary, calling him a talented businessman who knew how to achieve personal benefits and, when required, was ready to take responsibility for the common good. But he also described Mr Prigozhin as a flawed individual who had made a number of mistakes.

“I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims, this is a tragedy,” he said in a speech at a Kremlin meeting with the Russian-appointed governor of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. “I have known Mr. Prigozhin for a long time, since the early 1990s. He was a man of bad luck, and he made some mistakes in his life.”

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Mr Putin, said Mr Prigozhin was his friend and that he had asked him to “put his personal ambitions aside”.

“But lately, it seems he doesn't see or doesn't want to see the whole picture of what's happening in Russia.”

“Metallic Explosion”

The Embraer Legacy 600, flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region north of Moscow.

A Reuters reporter at the scene on Thursday morning saw several people carrying black body bags. Part of the tail of the plane and other debris lay scattered near a wooded area where investigators had set up tents.

Bazaar, a news site with several reliable sources in law enforcement agencies, said investigators are focusing on the theory that one or two bombs were placed on the plane.

Residents in the village of Kuzhenkino near the crash site said they heard an explosion and then saw the plane plummet to the ground. The plane showed no signs of trouble until the last 30 seconds, according to flight tracking data.

“It wasn't thunder, it was a metallic explosion, you could describe it that way,” said a resident named Anatoly.

Mourners left flowers and candles in memory of Mr. Prigozhin near Wagner's headquarters in St. Petersburg and other locations across Russia.

A Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel called Grey Zone announced Mr Prigozhin's death on Wednesday night, praising him as a hero and patriot and claiming he died at the hands of "traitors".

Military organizations that participated in the war on the Ukrainian side and carried out attacks on the Russian-Ukrainian border have called on Wagner to avenge Prigozhin’s death and to join them. It is not yet clear how Wagner members will respond to these calls.

In the absence of verified information, some of Mr Prigozhin's supporters have blamed the Russian government , while others have blamed Ukraine, after the country celebrated its Independence Day on Thursday.

Mr Putin said in June that Mr Prigozhin's coup could have plunged Russia into civil war.

The leader of the private military organization has also criticized the Russian military's conduct of the months-long war in Ukraine - which Moscow calls a "special military operation" - and has tried to oust Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

The coup ended with a deal with the Kremlin, in which Mr. Prigozhin agreed to move the organization to Belarus. However, he personally remained free to move within Russia.

Many Russians have wondered how he has been able to make such harsh criticisms without consequences.

Mr. Prigozhin posted a video on Monday showing him in Africa. He was also present at a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July.

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

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