Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to the family of Yevgeny Prigozhin, after the mercenary leader's plane crashed with no survivors two months after he led a mutiny against army chiefs.
MOSCOW, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to the family of Yevgeny Prigozhin on Thursday, breaking his silence after the mercenary leader’s plane crashed with no survivors two months after he led a mutiny against army chiefs.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Washington believed a surface-to-air missile originating from inside Russia likely shot down the plane, though they said the information was preliminary and under review.
Prigozhin, 62, was head of the Wagner mercenary group and a self-declared enemy of the army top brass over what he said was its incompetent prosecution of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Putin earlier made a virtual statement to a summit of the BRICS nations in South Africa which his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was attending.
The Baza news outlet, which has good sources among law enforcement agencies, reported that investigators were focusing on a theory that one or two bombs may have been planted on board.
The mercenary leader also spent months criticising the conduct of Russia’s war in Ukraine - which Moscow calls a “special military operation” - and had tried to topple Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.
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MOSCOW, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to the family of Yevgeny Prigozhin on Thursday, breaking his silence after the mercenary leader’s plane crashed with no survivors two months after he led a mutiny against army chiefs.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Washington believed a surface-to-air missile originating from inside Russia likely shot down the plane, though they said the information was preliminary and under review.
Prigozhin, 62, was head of the Wagner mercenary group and a self-declared enemy of the army top brass over what he said was its incompetent prosecution of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Putin earlier made a virtual statement to a summit of the BRICS nations in South Africa which his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was attending.
The Baza news outlet, which has good sources among law enforcement agencies, reported that investigators were focusing on a theory that one or two bombs may have been planted on board.
The mercenary leader also spent months criticising the conduct of Russia’s war in Ukraine - which Moscow calls a “special military operation” - and had tried to topple Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.
The original article contains 462 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 57%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!