A smiling Vladimir Putin enjoyed a kiss from a female suitor and soaked up the admiration of a crowd at an event in Russia – shortly after his former friend and Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane exploded.
Prigozhin, once a close ally of Putin before launching a mutiny against him in June, was listed by Russian authorities as one of ten passengers aboard a doomed plane that plunged into a ball of flames, killing everyone on board.
But as reports circulated that the feared Wagner boss had been killed, Putin showed no sign of grief last night at a concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Kursk in World War II.
The video shows the dictator, surrounded by bodyguards, walking towards a cheering crowd who yells “We are with you, we love you,” before a woman in a pink jacket yells, “Vladimir Vladimirovich.” [Putin]my favourite.’
Putin relished the attention and let the woman walk through his bodyguards to give him an enthusiastic kiss on the face.
“Kiss and I love you.” Thank you, stay healthy,” she told Putin, to which the smiling dictator replied, “Likewise.”
A smiling Vladimir Putin enjoyed a kiss from a female suitor and soaked up the admiration of a crowd at an event in Moscow – shortly after his former friend and Wagnerian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane exploded
Putin relished the attention and let the woman walk through his bodyguards to give him an enthusiastic kiss on the face.
Prigozhin was listed by Russian authorities as one of 10 passengers aboard a doomed plane that plunged into a ball of flames, killing everyone on board – exactly two months to the day after he led a short-lived unit against Moscow
And during a speech at a BRICS group of nations summit this morning, Putin again made no mention of Prigozhin and the crash
Since the pandemic and the start of the war, Putin has rarely allowed people to spontaneously come near him for health and safety reasons.
The footage shows him unusually relaxed after speaking about the decisive battle at an event in Kursk, Russia – despite knowing his former friend had likely died in the horrific plane crash some three hours earlier.
And during a speech at a BRICS group of nations summit this morning, Putin again made no mention of Prigozhin and the crash.
For years, Prigozhin was a staunch ally of Putin — chairing banquets in the Kremlin, catering for the Russian government, running propaganda troll farms and building a ruthless private army, Wagner.
But his attempt at a short-lived mutiny against Moscow in June was viewed by the dictator as treason.
While Prigozhin has been named as aboard the crashed plane, there is still no confirmation that the warlord, who has been a thorn in Putin’s side since the start of the Ukraine war, has died.
Russia’s investigative committee investigating the crash confirmed this morning that ten people were killed in the crash, with no mention of Prigozhin.
But although there is no official confirmation of Prigozhin’s death, the warlord’s supporters claim he is dead and hailed him as a hero and patriot perished at the hands of unknown people, whom they dubbed “the traitor to Russia”.
On Thursday morning, Russian officials carried black body bags from a wooded area at the scene of the accident. Parts of the plane’s tail and other fragments lay on the ground near where forensic investigators had set up a tent.
Emergency workers carry a body bag near the wreckage of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet at the crash site in Tver region, Russia, on Thursday
A view of the grounds after a private jet carrying ten people — allegedly including Prigozhin
Prigozhin has long had close ties to the Kremlin and, until recently, headed the Wagner mercenary unit
Whoever or whatever was behind the crash, Prigozhin’s death would rid Putin of someone who has posed the greatest challenge to the Russian leader’s authority since he came to power in 1999.
Others opposed to Putin or his interests also died or near death in mysterious circumstances, including outspoken political leaders and journalists. The Kremlin has always denied any state involvement in such incidents.
Prigozhin’s death would also leave the Wagner Group, which in June angered Putin by a failed armed mutiny against army leaders, a leaderless and raising questions about its future operations in Africa and elsewhere.
The crashed Embraer Legacy 600 Brazilian executive jet model had only one accident in over 20 years of service, according to the website International Aviation HQ, and it was not due to a mechanical failure.
Embraer said it has complied with international sanctions imposed on Russia and has not performed maintenance on the aircraft since 2019.
A specialist works on Thursday at the crash site of a private jet owned by Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Tver region
Plumes of smoke from the fire, which was said to have originated from the plane, could be seen for miles, as video posted on social media shows
According to flight tracking data, the plane showed no signs of a problem until a precipitous crash in the last 30 seconds.
Video footage allegedly shows the plane falling from the sky Wednesday in the Bologovsky district of the Tver region, 60 miles north of Moscow. A burning wreckage was later seen in a field, which appeared to be an airplane. Unconfirmed images showed it was completely ablaze.
Prigozhin, 62, has become increasingly cautious since he led a coup against Putin’s regime exactly two months ago.
After the failure, he was warned that his life was in danger. He was known to be very careful about his safety and is rumored not to have been on board the fateful plane, despite state television claims otherwise.
Sources close to him said that while he owned the plane, he usually flew on another plane.
Another plane, also said to have ties to Prigozhin, was spotted “zigzagging” over Moscow after the crash, fueling speculation that the Wagner boss might not have been on board after all.
The tracking data available for the crashed plane appears to show that it climbed to about 29,000 feet before suddenly disappearing and dropping to 0 feet.