Putin says Prigozhin 'made serious mistakes' in first remarks since plane crash that likely killed the Wagner boss

WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his soundlessness Thursday successful quick, impersonal remarks to the families progressive successful the fatal level crash believed to person killed Wagner mercenary brag Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin, who was erstwhile Putin's idiosyncratic cook and confidant, was surviving successful exile pursuing an effort successful June to revolt implicit frustrations stemming from a deficiency of Russian battlefield successes successful Ukraine.

"With respect to this level crash, archetypal of all, I privation to explicit my sincere condolences to the families of each the victims. It's ever a tragedy," Putin said successful a televised speech.

"I've known Prigozhin for a agelong time, since the aboriginal '90′s," Putin said, describing him arsenic a "talented businessman" with a "complicated fate" who "made superior mistakes successful his life."

The Russian person stopped abbreviated of confirming Prigozhin's decease but did talk successful the past tense erstwhile referring to the 62-year-old. Putin said that an probe into what happened to the backstage pitchy carrying 10 radical and departing from Moscow to St. Petersburg was already underway.

The Pentagon said Thursday that archetypal quality indicates that the Wagner main died successful the Wednesday level crash.

"It's apt Prigozhin was killed and we're continuing to measure the situation," U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said during a Pentagon briefing.

"The property reporting stating that determination was immoderate benignant of surface-to-air missile; we measure that accusation to beryllium inaccurate," Ryder said, declining to elaborate further.

CNBC and NBC News person not confirmed Prigozhin's death.

Former lawman nationalist information advisor Ben Rhodes told MSNBC that the onslaught "was not a mysterious accident."

"This has each the hallmarks of appearing similar a military-style takedown," Rhodes said, adding that Prigozhin's destiny was eminent pursuing a short-lived mutiny astir 2 months ago.

Former U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, who led the NATO alliance's forces betwixt 2009 and 2013, said that Prigozhin's decease was a canine whistle to those who dissent from Putin's implicit rule.

"He [Putin] needed to show who truly is moving the joint," Stavridis said, describing the onslaught arsenic a "public execution."

"No existent astonishment here, it's a marker of however lethal, and however deadly and however unscrupulous Vladimir Putin is," Stavridis added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied claims that Kyiv was down the downing of the backstage pitchy connected Russian soil.

"We person thing to bash with it. Everyone understands who is involved," Zelenskyy said.