What did President Putin say about the plane crash of boss Wagner Prigozhin?

According to RT, when commenting on the plane crash that allegedly killed the head of the Wagner Group, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on August 24 that Mr. Evgeny Prigozhin was a multi-talented person who had made an “important contribution” to the fight against neo-fascists in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters and journalists at the Kremlin, Mr. Putin said that he had known Mr. Prigozhin since the early 1990s, and commented that Mr. Prigozhin was "a man with a complicated destiny."

“He made serious mistakes in his life, but he also achieved results,” Putin added, describing Prigozhin as “a talented businessman” who operated in Russia and Africa in the oil, gas, metals and precious stones sectors. Putin said Prigozhin had apparently just returned from Africa, and had met with a number of Russian officials.

Earlier, on August 23, Mr. Prigozhin was listed on the passenger list of the Embraer private plane that crashed in the Tver Region, while traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg. All 7 passengers and 3 crew members were killed. Authorities are still trying to identify the victims, but Mr. Prigozhin is believed to be among them, along with 6 other commanders of the Wagner group.

President Putin has sent his condolences to the victims' families and promised a thorough investigation into the accident.

The incident comes exactly two months after a failed uprising by the Wagner group against the Russian military. Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of attacking a Wagner base and sending a column of troops to Moscow, taking over the military command post in Rostov-on-Don.

Mr Putin condemned the rebellion as treason and opened a criminal case against Mr Prigozhin. However, within days the charges were dropped, as Mr Prigozhin agreed to disband most of the Wagner group and move with the rest to Belarus and Africa, under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.