Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Kyiv had “nothing to do” with the alleged death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash the previous day in Russia, implying that the Kremlin was responsible.
“What is certain is that we had nothing to do with this situation. I think everyone understands who is involved,” Zelensky said, when asked about the plane crash at a press conference.
Although the death of the paramilitary group’s leader has not been confirmed by independent sources, there are many indications that he was one of the passengers on the private Embraer Legacy jet that crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in western Russia.
Other high-ranking members of Wagner, such as Dmitri Outkin, Prigozhin’s right-hand man, may also have died in the incident, leaving the future of the mercenary organisation uncertain.
One possibility is that the Wagner group will fall into the hands of the Russian state, and therefore under the authority of Vladimir Putin.
According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, this would only increase the danger. “Everyone should answer this question for themselves: will the threat increase or decrease? For me, it’s a rhetorical question,” he told a press conference.
