The bodies of the ten dead from Prigozhin’s plane crash and the two black boxes were found
On Friday evening, Russian investigators announced that they had found the bodies of the ten victims who were killed in the crash of the plane that was carrying Wagner Group commander Yevgeny Prigozhin, in addition to the two black boxes of the plane that crashed Wednesday in Russia.
The Russian Investigative Committee said on Telegram: “The bodies of the 10 dead were found at the scene of the plane (crash). Genetic tests are being conducted to determine their identity. Investigators have seized the flight recorders and a careful examination of the place is being conducted.”
Lukashenko: I advised Prigozhin to be “cautious”
Earlier on Friday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had warned the leaders of the Russian private military Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, of potential threats to their lives.
President Putin initially vowed to crush Prigozhin’s rebellion in June, likening it to the unrest during the war that led to the 1917 revolution, but hours later a deal was reached that allowed Prigozhin and some of his fighters to move to Belarus.
Lukashenko, who helped broker the deal shortly after the mutiny, said he persuaded Putin not to “eliminate” Prigozhin, who was on the passenger list of a private plane that crashed on Wednesday north of Moscow.
Lukashenko said on Friday that Prigozhin had on two occasions ruled out concerns raised by the Belarusian president about potential threats to his life.
Lukashenko added that he had warned Prigozhin during the rebellion that he would “die” if he continued his advance towards Moscow, and Prigozhin replied, “I don’t care… I will die.”
Lukashenko went on to say that he warned Prigozhin and Utkin again when he met them. Utkin co-founded Wagner with Prigozhin and was also on the passenger list of the plane that crashed.
It was not clear from Lukashenko’s remarks, reported by state news agency Belta, when the conversation took place.
Lukashenko, an old acquaintance of Prigozhin and a close ally of Russia, said Putin had nothing to do with the plane crash.
He added, “I know Putin, he is not in a treacherous nature, very calm, very careful … I can’t imagine that Putin did this, that Putin is responsible. It’s a very ruthless and unprofessional job.”
The Kremlin said today, Friday, that Western insinuations that Prigozhin was killed on his orders are a “pure lie”, but it refuses to confirm his death outright, pointing to the need to wait for the results of the investigation.
(AFP, Reuters)
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2023-08-25 17:37:02
