Prigozhin's death proves Putin should not be trusted – Ukraine's Defence Minister

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's Defence Minister, believes that the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, financier of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), proves that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin should not be negotiated with, as he cannot be trusted.

Source: Reznikov in an interview with Welt

Quote: "Prigozhin's death made Putin weaker. That has shown the world: If Putin decides on any agreement with anyone and breaks it, it means he can no longer be trusted...

It's the behaviour of gangsters, and the Kremlin behaves like gangsters, like criminals."

Details: He said the death of the Wagnerites' leader would not affect the war’s course, as "the Wagner Group, in fact, no longer exists".

Reznikov explained that mercenaries were a major force a year ago, but now "they are defeated".

Background:

• The Wagner PMC fought in Ukraine, especially actively in the city of Bakhmut, but in late spring, they relocated to field camps.

• On 24 June, the Wagner PMC started an armed rebellion in Russia due to a conflict with the Russian military command, but in the evening of the same day, after a conversation with Alexander Lukashenko, self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Yevgeny Prigozhin said his mercenaries were heading back to the field camps. The criminal case against Prigozhin in Russia was closed, and he was to "go to Belarus".

• On 11 July, the Belarusian Defence Ministry claimed that an "experience exchange" between mercenaries of the Wagner PMC and the Belarusian Armed Forces would occur at Belarusian training grounds. On 14 July, mercenaries trained with units of the Belarusian Territorial Defence Forces near Asipovichy, Mogilev Oblast.

• On the evening of 23 August, a small plane crashed in Russia's Tver Oblast, and the Russian Federal Aviation Agency claimed that the list of passengers included Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC.

• The Grey Zone Telegram channel, which is close to the Wagner Group, claimed that Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane had been shot down by air defence fire. A terrorist attack on board was reportedly being considered as a line of enquiry regarding the crash of Prigozhin's plane.

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