Putin breaks silence on Prigozhin following fatal plane crash

푸틴, 프리고진 사망 첫언급 "유능했지만 실수도 유족에 애도"

Just 24 hours after Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's reported death in a plane crash, Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence on the chief while there are speculation from the U.S. that the plane crash could've been caused by a bomb.
Lee Seung-jae has more.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first time since the deadly plane accident that presumably killed the mercenary group's leader.
On Thursday, Putin sent his condolences to the family of Prigozhin and recalled him being "a man with a complicated fate."

"As for the aviation tragedy, first of all, I want to express my sincerest condolences to the families of all the victims. I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 1990s. He was a man with a complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in life."
Putin, however, praised Prigozhin for being a "talented businessman", that not only worked in Russia, but also in Africa.
Meanwhile, Washington has raised a number of possibilities on what caused the plane accident.
While Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said the U.S.' initial assessment is that Prigozhin was killed, there's no proof that a surface-to-surface missile took down the plane, as some of the reports have indicated.
However, U.S. intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the explosion could have been caused by a bomb or other device planted on the aircraft.
The big question now is, what will the future hold for the Wagner Group?
According to experts, the group's leadership structure is kept tightly under wraps, so it's unclear who will take over as the new leader, while some say that it could be chosen by the Kremlin.
They add that the Wagner Group could continue to play a major role in Putin's governance, and will continue to hold its presence in Africa.
However, others say that the recent incident could demoralize members of the mercenary group, and lead to a massive exodus.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

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2023-08-25, 09:00 (KST)