Lukashenko: I told Prigozhin to take care of himself, he said: to hell with it, let me be killed

Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Vladimir Putin, claimed: "I warned Yevgeny Prigozhin to be more careful after the brief rebellion against the Russian army, but he said, if I am to die, to hell with it, let me be killed." Lukashenko continued: "I told him, Yevgeny, I will send you a rope and a piece of soap right now, but Prigozhin said no, I don't want that, I will die like a hero." Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, rebelled against the Russian army in early July and advanced to within 200 kilometers of Moscow. He went to Belarus for a while through Lukashenko's mediation but was killed on September 1 following a plane crash. Media reported on the evening of September 1 that the plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, crashed in Russia, killing all passengers, including Prigozhin himself. After the news of Prigozhin's death was released, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed his presence among the passengers of the "crashed" plane in Russia and announced that it had begun an investigation into the crash of the Embraer aircraft in the Tver region. In response to this incident, American officials stated that the plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, crashed as a result of a conspiracy to assassinate him, but it does not appear that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile; rather, it is likely that a bomb exploded on the plane carrying Prigozhin or some other form of sabotage caused its crash in northwestern Moscow. Social media accounts close to Wagner, belonging to Prigozhin, claimed that the plane was shot down by a Russian army anti-aircraft missile. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, who is accused of being involved in Prigozhin's death, expressed his condolences to his family. While there are many speculations about the possible crash of this plane, the Kremlin spokesman stated that the claims that the Russian government ordered Prigozhin's assassination are "absolutely false." Russia reported the discovery of "flight data recording equipment from Prigozhin's plane." Initial assessments from the U.S. regarding the circumstances of Prigozhin's death; Putin expressed condolences. Biden's reaction to the crash of the Wagner group leader's plane: I was not surprised by his death. The end of the story of the "controversial Wagner commander"; Prigozhin's death confirmed. Reports of the founder of the Wagner mercenary group being killed in a plane crash in Russia. Two Russian news agencies: General Armageddon was dismissed from his position as commander of the Russian Air Force. The British Ministry of Defense: The Kremlin may no longer financially support the Wagner group. Wagner forces entered the Central African Republic before the referendum. The Kremlin spokesman: Putin met with Prigozhin five days after the Wagner rebellion.