Swara Garge, Pune
Following a fatal plane crash that is thought to have taken the life of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Chief. Thursday this week Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the crash and sent his condolences to the families of the deceased. He further ordered Wagner troops to swear loyalty to the Russian government by signing the oath of allegiance.
On Friday, the Kremlin stated that Western claims that Prigozhin had been executed on its orders were an “absolute lie” and that Putin should thus immediately implement the adjustment. Prigozhin, who led a failed rebellion against army chiefs exactly two months prior, was on board a private jet that crashed on Wednesday evening northwest of Moscow, according to the Russian aviation authorities. There were no survivors. The need to wait for test results was cited by the Kremlin as a reason why it would be premature to confirm his death.
In his condolence message to the families of those who were killed, Putin used the past tense to refer to Prigozhin. He claimed that “preliminary information” suggested that Prigozhin and his top Wagner allies had all been slain, and although admiring Prigozhin, he claimed that he had also made some “serious mistakes.” “There is now a great deal of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic deaths of the plane’s passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin.” Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman told the reporters.
According to the news agency Reuters, the directive, which was posted on the Kremlin website, requires that everyone working for the Russian government in its “special military operation” in Ukraine take a formal oath of allegiance to Russia. The text of the oath contains a paragraph in which people who take it commit to strictly abide by the commands of commanders and senior leaders. The decree describes this as a move to construct the spiritual and moral foundations of Russia’s defense.