Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that “pieces of grenades” 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.” .
“The head of the Investigative Committee reported to me a few days ago. Fragments of grenades were found in the bodies of victims of the air disaster. There was no external impact on the plane,” Putin said at the international forum in Valdai, Russia.
The boss of the Wagner paramilitary group died on August 23 in the crash of his private jet which was transporting him from Moscow to Saint Petersburg alongside some of his lieutenants.
Mr. Prigozhin had fallen from grace and considered a traitor by Russian President Vladimir Putin for having orchestrated a mutiny on June 23.
Ukraine and the West suspect revenge from the Kremlin, a theory that Moscow rejects.
Russian investigators have not said whether they are favoring the possibility of an assassination, a technical problem or a human error and the only investigation opened so far concerns violations of air safety rules.
After Wagner’s rebellion, Mr. Putin gave Mr. Prigozhin’s fighters the choice of joining the regular army, going into exile in Belarus or returning to civilian life.
According to Mr. Putin, “several thousand fighters” from Wagner have signed employment contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
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