Kremlin says Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death may not have been accidental. Wednesday, the Kremlin stated that the crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of private military force Wagner, who perished in Russia last week, may have resulted from “deliberate wrongdoing.”
According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, investigators have not yet determined the official cause of the incident, but “different versions” of what transpired are being considered.
Peskov told reporters on his daily conference call that one of the potential causes is “let’s put it this way, deliberate wrongdoing.”
Read more: Russia’s Prigozhin was privately buried in St Petersburg.
He said the Russian Investigative Committee has not yet investigated the crash. The committee opened a criminal investigation into alleged flight safety violations last week, the default charge in Russian plane disaster investigations when no foul play is suspected.
The Kremlin spokesman stated that there could not be an international investigation, as requested by the Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents in Brazil through the civil aviation rules of the United Nations.
On Wednesday, August 23, Prigozhin and several top lieutenants, including his second-in-command and Wagner’s logistics chief, were among the ten individuals aboard a business jet that crashed midway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Nobody survived the accident.
As the accident occurred precisely two months after Prigozhin’s armed march toward Moscow to protest Russia’s military leadership, there was immediate speculation that it may have been intentional.
Some experts hypothesize that Putin ordered the assassination, but the Kremlin denies any involvement in the incident.
Ukraine, which Russia invaded and continues to wage war against, has also denied participation.
Putin stated that the passengers had “made a significant contribution” to the Ukrainian conflict. Until Tuesday evening, when the mercenary leader’s spokespeople revealed the location of his grave, the event was secretive.
In addition, it is unclear why several high-ranking Wagner members, who are typically cautious about their safety, boarded the same flight.
A preliminary intelligence assessment conducted by the United States concluded that a deliberate explosion caused the accident. Witnesses at the scene verified a loud explosion occurred before the aircraft’s crash, and video captured at the scene depicts the plane being severely damaged and falling from the sky.
