Ukraine war live: Putin breaks silence on Prigozhin death as spy chiefs say explosion caused plane crash

Vladimir Putin has praised Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as “a talented businessman”, and sent his condolences to the families of those who died in a plane crash near Moscow. Breaking his silence of 24 hours on the presumed death in the crash of the mercenary group leader and former ally, the Russian president said it was necessary to await the outcome of the official investigation. The crash, which killed 10 people, is widely claimed to be an assassination to avenge Mr Prigozhin’s mutiny in June that challenged Russia’s military leadership. Intelligence chiefs said they suspected an explosion caused the crash. Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said reports that a surface-to-air missile took down the plane were inaccurate, but he declined to say whether the US suspected a bomb. Earlier, masked men claiming to belong to Wagner warned the Kremlin to “get ready for us”. “There’s a lot of talk right now about what the Wagner group will do. We can tell you one thing: we are getting started, get ready for us,” the men warned in a video. Read More What we know — and don't know — about the crash of a Russian mercenary's plane Putin says Wagner chief had ‘complicated fate’ – as officials suggest explosion on plane caused fatal crash While world media speculates on Wagner chief's presumed death, Russian state media shies away Wagner has been decapitated – the mercenaries should fear the future