The apparent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia's private mercenary firm Wagner Group, likely gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a tighter grip on his country, a former U.S. national security advisor told CNBC.
Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a plane involved in a fatal crash on Wednesday in the Tver region of Russia, outside Moscow.
"My own sense is this [incident] probably strengthens Putin's hand considerably inside Russia," John Bolton, who served as national security advisor under the Trump administration, told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Thursday.
His forces, known for their particularly violent battlefield tactics, spearheaded a number of battles for Russia on the Ukrainian front.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Wagner Group leader and his forces would relocate to Belarus, with Prigozhin pledging to leave Russia for good.
Persons:
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, John Bolton, Trump, CNBC's Dan Murphy, I'd, Putin —, Bolton, Putin
Organizations:
Wagner Group, CNBC, Group
Locations:
U.S, Tver, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, Belarus