The Kremlin said Wednesday that investigators were probing all possible scenarios surrounding the death last week of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash, including premeditated murder.
Prigozhin, 62, was buried on Tuesday in a private ceremony in his native St. Petersburg, more than two months after he staged a short-lived mutiny that posed a serious challenge to the Kremlin.
Authorities said the Western-sanctioned businessman died when his private jet went down along with nine other people between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and opened an investigation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday told reporters that officials probing the incident have not ruled out any cause for the crash including foul play.
“Obviously there are different versions, including the version — you know what we are talking about, let’s say a deliberate crime — and so on,” Peskov said.
He said the plane crash was being probed by Russia’s Investigative Committee and that there would be no international input on the probe.
The Kremlin has dismissed suggestions that it orchestrated the crash in revenge for Wagner’s march on Moscow in June. Officials are investigating possible air traffic violations but have not disclosed details.
