09/08/2023 8:01 pm (current 09/08/2023 8:01 pm)
Zelensky blames Putin for Prigozhin’s death. ©Portal; AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has directly blamed Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in Russia.
“He killed Prigozhin. At least that’s the information we all have, we have no other information,” Zelensky said in a speech on Friday. The incident shows that Putin has now become “politically weak”, Zelensky continued.
The private plane with the head of the Russian mercenary group on board crashed on August 23 while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg. In addition to Chief Wagner, his deputy, Dmitri Utkin, and eight other people died.
Possibility of a “wilful crime” examined
A week after Prigozhin’s death, the Kremlin said it was investigating in all directions. The possibility of an “intentional crime” will also be examined. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously described “speculation” that the Kremlin might have ordered Prigozhin’s death as an “absolute lie.”
Putin had viewed Prigozhin as a traitor since Wagner’s mercenary rebellion in June. The day after his death, Putin described his former confidant as a “capable” man who made “serious mistakes” in his life.