Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that “fragments of a grenade” were found in the bodies of victims of the August crash of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane, which “did not suffer any external impact,” according to AFP.
The remains of the plane that crashed in Russia and in which Evgeni Prigozhin wasPhoto: AP / AP / Profimedia
“The head of the Commission of Inquiry reported to me a few days ago. Fragments of grenades were found in the bodies of the victims of the air disaster. The plane did not suffer any external impact,” Putin said at the Valdai International Forum in Russia.
The head of the Wagner paramilitary group died on August 23 when his private plane, which was taking him from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed along with some of his lieutenants.
Prigozhin had fallen from grace and was considered a traitor by Russian President Vladimir Putin for orchestrating an uprising on 23 June.
Ukraine and the West suspect retaliation by the Kremlin, a theory Moscow rejects.
Russian investigators have not said whether they are focusing on the assassination, a technical problem or human error, and the only investigation opened so far concerns a breach of aviation safety rules.
After the Wagner Rebellion, Putin gave Prigozhin’s fighters a choice between joining the regular army, going into exile in Belarus, or returning to civilian life.
According to Putin, “thousands of fighters” from Wagner have signed enlistment contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
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