Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Friday that Jevgenij Prigozjin, the leader of the Wagner group, was killed on orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"He killed Prigozjin. That's at least the information we all have, and we have no other," Zelensky said, according to Reuters. He added that this event indicates Putin is "politically weak."
Zelensky did not provide any evidence to support his claim. In Moscow, the allegation that Putin ordered the death of the Wagner leader is dismissed as "an absolute lie."
Prigozjin died along with nine others in a plane crash between Moscow and St. Petersburg on August 23 under still unclear circumstances.
The crash occurred two months after a brief revolt against the Russian military leadership led by Prigozjin.
The plane involved in the crash was an Embraer Legacy 600, and two Wagner lieutenants and four of Prigozjin's bodyguards also died in the incident.
During the brief revolt in June, the Wagner group marched towards the Russian capital. The march ended with an agreement between Putin and the Wagner group.
Putin described the revolt as a "stab in the back" and later called Prigozjin a talented individual who, according to Putin, made "serious mistakes." Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesperson, has hinted that the investigation into the crash could suggest that it was a deliberate act.
"It's clear that there are various theories, such as it could be a case of deliberate cruelty," Peskov said at the end of August.
