Vladimir Putin will be “glad” that Wagner Group boss Yevgevney Pregozhin is dead, a Ukrainian army Major told Daily Express US.
A business jet en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed on Wednesday, killing all ten passengers.
According to reports, the head honcho of a private military firm assisting Putin’s men in Ukraine was on board.
Victor Tregubov, a Ukrainian Army Major, told Daily Express US that the news of Pregozhin’s alleged death should come as a relief to Putin.
He said: “He [Putin] is famous for being a vengeful little man, so I suppose he is glad now.”
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This comes after Wagner Group’s attempted mutiny earlier this summer.
Wagner thugs, who have fought alongside Russia’s regular army in Ukraine, mounted a short-lived armed coup against Russia’s military leadership in late June.
Prigozhin founded Wagner in 2014 and was exiled to Belarus following the attempted mutiny.
But Tregubov told Daily Express US that Prigozhin’s death spells the end of the private military organisation.
He said: “The problem here is that I cannot perceive Russian official sources as trustable. So there are many options here. It could be staged.
“If it is not staged, it could be coincidence (highly unlikely) or assassination (very likely). If it’s assassination, it’s like telling to all the Russians ‘this is what happens if you try to move tanks to Moscow.”
“In any case, it is the end of Wagner project.”
Putin sent condolences to the families of all 10 people allegedly on board the plane that plunged to the ground just northwest of Moscow on Wednesday evening.
But the Russian dictator failed to explicitly confirm Prigozhin’s death.
Putin said: “I would like to above all express words of the most sincere condolences to the families of all those who have died.”
He added that initial data indicated that “Wagner employees” were on board.
Putin continued: “These are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine.
This is the same bizarre excuse Putin has to justify his illegal invasion of Ukraine, which was first launched in February 2022.
Wagner’s forces have played a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, succeeding in taking the city where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place, Bakhmut.
Prigozhin frequently criticized Russia’s military brass over the course of the war, accusing it of incompetence and of starving his troops of weapons and ammunition, but his accusations and calls for armed rebellion Friday were more direct challenge.
