Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the plane crash that occurred the day before in the Russian province of Tver.
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"Preliminary data indicate that there were members of the Wagner group. I would like to emphasize that these are people who made a significant contribution to our common issue of the struggle against the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. We remember, we know, and we will not forget," Putin said.
As for the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was traveling on the plane, Putin said he had known him for a long time, since the early 1990s. Prigozhin "was a talented man, a talented businessman, he worked not only in our country and with results, but also abroad, in Africa in particular."
The President pointed out that technical and genetic expertise is being carried out. Putin assured that the investigation will be carried out in its entirety and to the end.
According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 10 people were on board the Embraer aircraft, including three crew members. There were no survivors in the crash that occurred in Russia's Tver region, near the town of Kuzhenkino.
The plane, owned by Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) reported.
The list of people on board the plane provided by Rosaviatsiya included the names of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, one of the founders and commanders of the Wagner Group.