Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the private plane crash in the Tver Region.
On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said an Embraer Legacy private airplane en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in Russia's Tver Region, killing all ten people on board.
The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) confirmed late on Wednesday that Private military company (PMC) Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was among the passengers on board the flight.
Vladimir Putin said that he knew Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for a long time, and described him as a talented person of difficult fate.
"I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, from the beginning of the 1990s. He was a man of difficult fate, and he made serious mistakes in life… He was a talented person, a talented businessman, he worked not only in our country and worked with results, but also abroad, in Africa in particular," Putin stated during a meeting with Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Wagner's Contribution to Fight Against Nazism in Ukraine
The private military company Wagner has made a significant contribution to the fight against Nazism in Ukraine, the president emphasised.
"It seems that the primary data indicate that employees of the Wagner company were also there. I would like to note that these are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine," Putin stressed.
The president added that the country remembers, knows, and "will not forget" about Wagner’s contribution to the fight against Nazism.
Putin mentioned that the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee reported about the start of the investigation into the crash of a plane with Prigozhin on board.
Lavrov's Statement on the Plane Crash With Prigozhin on Board
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for paying attention to facts and not to Western media reports when asked about the private plane crash in Tver Region with Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on board.
"An investigation is under way, I urge you to be guided by facts, not by what the Western media says," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed.
Investigators report about plane crash
Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin has reported about the start of an investigation into the Wednesday private plane crash with Prigozhin on board, and vowed to see it through, Putin said on Thursday.
"But, what is absolutely certain, the head of the investigative committee reported to me this morning that they have already started a preliminary investigation of this incident and it will be carried out in full and will be seen through. There is no doubt here. We'll see what the investigators say soon," Putin said during a meeting with Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Sputnik