Putin Offers Condolences to Families of Those Killed in Private Plane Crash in Tver Region

On August 23, an Embraer Legacy plane crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia's Tver Region, about 300 kilometers away from Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the private plane crash in the Tver Region.

On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said an Embraer Legacy private airplane en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in Russia's Tver Region, killing all ten people on board. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) confirmed late on Wednesday that Private military company (PMC) Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed among the passengers on board the flight.

A Man of Difficult Fate

Vladimir Putin said that he knew Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for a long time, and described him as a talented person of difficult fate.

"I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, from the beginning of the 1990s. He was a man of difficult fate, and he made serious mistakes in life… He was a talented person, a talented businessman, he worked not only in our country and worked with results, but also abroad, in Africa in particular," Putin stated during a meeting with Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Wagner's Contribution to Fight Against Nazism in Ukraine

The Private military company Wagner has made a significant contribution to fight against Nazism in Ukraine, the president emphasized.

"It seems that the primary data indicate that employees of the Wagner company were also there. I would like to note that these are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine," Putin stressed.

The president added that the country remembers, knows and "will not forget" about Wagner’s contribution to fight against Nazism.

Putin mentioned that the Head of Russia’s Investigative Committee reported about start of investigation of crash of plane with Prigozhin on board.

Lavrov's Statement on the Plane Crash With Prigozhin on Board

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for paying attention to facts and not to Western media reports when asked about the private plane crash in the Tver Region with Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on board.

"An investigation was launched immediately, a case was opened, investigators are working. I would suggest focusing on the facts, and not on what the Western media say," Lavrov told reporters.