Prigozhin's death is bad news for Ukraine – Bild

The deputy editor-in-chief of the German newspaper Bild, Paul Ronzheimer, has shared his opinion. 

According to him, after learning about the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane on Wednesday evening, "people in Ukraine were generally happy that he was dead". The journalist recalls that Prigozhin was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut, as well as numerous war crimes and torture.

On the other hand, Ronzheimer continues, for at least the last two months, Prigozhin has been a destabilising factor for the Russian authorities, and his actions have been beneficial to Ukraine on the principle of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

"I think that if Prigozhin is really dead, this is a stabilising factor for Vladimir Putin and thus not good news for Ukraine. It is also a signal to the US and Germany. The dictator wants to make it clear that he cannot be defeated, he cannot be replaced," said Ronzheimer.

What we know about the plane crash with Prigozhin

On August 23, an Embraer business jet belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed in the Tver region of Russia, killing 10 people. The Wagner PMC financier was among the passengers.

Journalist Vitaly Portnikov is convinced that Prigozhin's liquidation is Putin's revenge for the destroyed planes and helicopters of the Russian Armed Forces.

The Center of National Resistance reported that Wagner PMC mercenaries are trying to leave the camps in Belarus and go to Russia amid reports of the death of their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash.

Russian oppositionist Ilya Ponomarev believes that without their commanders, the Wagner fighters are unable to organize a second rebellion against Putin.

The Institute for the Study of War has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably ordered the assassination of Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in order to reassert his dominance and avenge his humiliation. 

According to one version of the Russian media, an explosive device was planted in the landing gear of the plane carrying Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, which detonated at the right time, tearing off the wing and stabiliser.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine was not involved in the downing of Prigozhin's plane and joked that it was "not the kind of help with the aircraft that Ukraine asked for".

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki believes that after Prigozhin's death, Wagner's members will continue to destabilize the countries bordering Belarus.