MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin said Wednesday that “deliberate error” was among the possible causes of the plane crash that killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week.
Speaking to reporters during his daily press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are “different versions” of what happened and that “they are being considered,” including “let’s put it that way, a deliberate mistake.”
The spokesman urged reporters to wait until the investigation by the Russian Investigative Committee was finished and said there could be no international investigation. The committee said last week that it opened a criminal case for violating flight safety, a standard charge routinely used in air crash investigations in Russia when there is no immediate reason to suspect foul play.
The private plane in which Prigozhin, founder and leader of the Wagner Group private military group, and his top lieutenants were traveling crashed halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg on Wednesday. All 10 people on board died.
The accident came exactly two months after Prigozhin’s brief revolt against Russian military leadership, which was the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule. The Kremlin has denied his involvement in the incident.
Prigozhin was buried in his hometown of St. Petersburg in a private ceremony that was kept secret until Tuesday night, when spokesmen for the mercenary leader revealed the location of his grave.
