In a shocking twist to the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the enigmatic head of the Wagner mercenary group, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made startling claims. Putin asserted that the fatal incident was a result of hand grenades detonating within the aircraft and hinted at the possibility of drug involvement.
Prigozhin met his untimely end when his private jet crashed on August 23, a mere two months after orchestrating an aborted mutiny against Russian military authorities, during which his Wagner mercenary forces briefly seized control of the southern city of Rostov and advanced towards Moscow. The crash also claimed the lives of two other high-ranking Wagner commanders, Prigozhin’s four loyal bodyguards, and a three-member crew.
Speaking for the first time about the crash’s cause, Putin contended that the plane had been destroyed from within, citing information relayed by the head of Russia’s investigative committee just days prior. “Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash,” Putin declared during a gathering of the Valdai Discussion Club thinktank in Sochi, a Black Sea resort.
Putin unequivocally refuted Western intelligence reports suggesting a bomb as the likely cause, though he did not provide details on how hand grenades could have detonated on board. He insinuated that alcohol and drug consumption might have played a role in the tragic incident.
Intriguingly, the Russian leader revealed that no examination had been conducted to determine the presence of alcohol or drugs in the victims’ blood. Nevertheless, he made a startling revelation, referencing the discovery by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) of a significant sum of 10 billion roubles in cash and a staggering 5 kilograms of cocaine during a search of Prigozhin’s mansion following his failed rebellion.
Putin characterized Russia’s involvement with the Wagner group as “clumsy” and emphasized that the organization operated outside Russian law, having been born out of necessity. He emphasized the absence of legal provisions regulating private military companies in Russia.
Moreover, Putin disclosed that “several thousand soldiers” from the Wagner group had signed contracts with the Russian defense ministry. These remarks come in the wake of the Russian president’s recent meeting with a former senior Wagner commander to discuss the group’s future following its founder’s demise.
Last week, Ukrainian officials reported that some former Wagner fighters had re-entered the battlefield, albeit as part of the regular army rather than as a separate unit. This development underscores the significant impact Prigozhin’s mutiny had on challenging Putin’s nearly quarter-century rule.
