The Kremlin said that the investigation into the plane crash which killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin included the possibility that it was caused deliberately marking the first explicit acknowledgement that he may have been assassinated.
"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 said, adding, "Let's wait for the results of our Russian investigation."
The private jet on which Yevgeny Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on August 23, including two other top Wagner figures, his four bodyguards and a crew of three.
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The cause is still unclear. The plane crashed exactly two months since Yevgeny Prigozhin took control of the southern city of Rostov in late June in a mutiny which shook the foundations of Russian president Vladimir Putin's rule.
Russia informed Brazil's aircraft investigation authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer jet under international rules "at the moment", the Brazilian agency told Reuters. Dmitry Peskov said: “First of all, the investigation is under way, the Investigative Committee is engaged in this. In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect.”
{{/usCountry}}Russia informed Brazil's aircraft investigation authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer jet under international rules "at the moment", the Brazilian agency told Reuters. Dmitry Peskov said: “First of all, the investigation is under way, the Investigative Committee is engaged in this. In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect.”
{{/usCountry}}Yevgeny Prigozhin was buried at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in his home town of St Petersburg on Tuesday privately. Vladimir Putin was not present at the funeral.