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.Peskov added that the circumstances surrounding the Aug. 23 crash prevented Russia from allowing the incident to be investigated under international regulations.
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."“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.”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.
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