THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 5, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
Barnini Chakraborty, Senior Investigations Reporter


NextImg:Kremlin hints Yevgeny Prigozhin may have been assassinated and his plane downed on purpose

The Kremlin acknowledged on Wednesday that the plane carrying Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin may have been downed on purpose but stopped short of allowing international investigators to probe the crash and alleged assassination. 

"It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version, you know what we are talking about, let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during his daily call.

HALF OF MAJOR LITHIUM DEALS SINCE 2018 WERE MADE BY CHINESE FIRMS, STUDY SAYS

Peskov added that the circumstances surrounding the Aug. 23 crash prevented Russia from allowing the incident to be investigated under international regulations. He said the Russian Investigative Committee had not concluded its probe into what may have taken place.

"Let's wait for the results of our Russian investigation," he said.

Prigozhin, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, launched a failed mutiny against Moscow's military leadership in June.

A portrait of the owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin lays at an informal memorial next to the former 'PMC Wagner Centre' in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. Russia's civil aviation agency says mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard a plane that crashed north of Moscow. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

He and nine others, including top leaders from his private military company, Wagner, were killed last Wednesday when their private jet crashed northwest of Moscow. There has been wide speculation that Prigozhin was assassinated for his armed rebellion that challenged Putin's authority, though the Kremlin has denied any involvement.

One anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press that Prigozhin was "very likely" targeted and that the incident lines up with Putin's "long history of trying to silence his critics."

President Joe Biden said he believed there was some merit to allegations Putin was behind the crash.

“I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden said. “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.”

Ukraine, which Russia invaded last year and continues to war against, has also denied involvement.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Prigozhin was buried Tuesday in a private ceremony in St. Petersburg. The announcement ended speculation about where and when he would be buried. 

The Kremlin said it had no information about Prigozhin's funeral, only that Putin would not be there.