Vladimir Putin has claimed fragments of hand grenades have been recovered from the wreckage of a jet crash which killed his nemesis Yevgeny Prigozhin.
In an apparent attempt to distance himself from responsibility, the Russian President hinted an accidental explosion aboard the aircraft carrying the Wagner chief.
Weeks after he had led a revolt against the Kremlin, Prigozhin was travelling by private jet from Moscow to St Peterburg on August 23rd when it burst into flames.
The executive Embraer jet then plunged to earth, killing Prigozhin, his bodyguards and other Wagner commanders.
Immediately, fingers were pointed at President Putin, who had fallen out spectacularly with Prigozhin over the war in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has claimed fragments of hand grenades have been recovered from the wreckage of a jet crash which killed his nemesis Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured in June this year)
Weeks after he had led a revolt against the Kremlin, Prigozhin was travelling by private jet from Moscow to St Peterburg on August 23rd when it burst into flames (pictured)
While since the conflict began several opponents of Putin have met a grisly end.
Western intelligence officials also believe the explosion which damaged the plane in mid-flight was internal rather than external.
But, to date, only President Putin has suggested the crash was caused by the accidental detonation of grenades by one of the passengers or crew.
Prigozhin’s rebellion in June marked the most serious challenge to Putin’s rule since he rose to power in 1999.
Initially, the president’s response – expelling Prigozhin to neighbouring Belarus – appeared uncharacteristically meek, the sentence of a president whose powers were waning.
Then, exactly, two months later, Prigozhin’s jet was blown out of the sky.
The executive Embraer jet then plunged to earth, killing Prigozhin, his bodyguards and other Wagner commanders. Pictured: – Russian investigators comb the scene of a jet crash near the village of Kuzhenkino on August 24 this year
Speaking at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said: ‘Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash. There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact.’ Putin is pictured speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Thursday
Speaking at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said: ‘Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash. There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact.’
Putin added that he thought it was wrong for crash investigators not to conduct alcohol and drug tests on the deceased when their bodies were recovered from the crash site.
He thought this was relevant because Russian state officials had previously found quantities of cocaine during a search of Prigozhin’s private mansion in St Petersburg earlier this year.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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