By Ayo Yusuf
For the first time, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has responded to Wednesday’s plane crash in which Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed.
In a televised speech, Mr. Putin promised to ensure that investigators look into what happened during the crash but warned that it will take time.
The President said he was told about Wednesday’s plane crash on Thursday morning. In his condolence message to the families of the dead, Mr. Putin described the Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin as a talented businessman.
TheNewDiplomat reported, Wednesday, that Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was feared dead in a private plane that crashed in Russia.
Russian state-run news agencies had said that Mr. Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group that led a mutiny against Russia’s army in June, was on the list of passengers of a plane that crashed.
At least ten people were killed when a Russian plane crashed in the Tver Region reported Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia, TASS news agency, RIA Novosti and Interfax.
Barely three days ago on Monday, Mr Prigozhin said in a video recorded message that his group was making Africa “freer” and suggested he was presently on the continent.
Mr. Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally whose group rebelled against Russia’s military leadership in June, has made few public appearances since the mutiny.
His group maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic. It has been suggested that the group is behind the recent coup in Niger which toppled the government of Mohamed Bazoum.
In the latest video posted by his group, Prigozhin said, “We are working. The temperature is above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Just how we like it.”
The video shows Mr. Prigozhin holding an assault rifle, before panning around to reveal military vehicles parked on a large, desert-like plain.
“The Wagner Group is conducting reconnaissance and search activities. Making Russia even greater on every continent — and Africa even freer,” Prigozhin said.
Wagner’s apparent activities in Africa come as tensions brew in Niger, which was rocked by a coup in July that saw its government deposed and a military junta installed.
A Russian organisation affiliated with Wagner shared a message apparently from Prigozhin, who said the events in Niger were part of the nation’s fight against “colonisers”.
