On Wednesday, the Kremlin announced that investigators are considering the possibility of the plane that carried mercenary leader Yevgeny Prgozhin being deliberately downed. This is the first time that it has been explicitly acknowledged that he could have been killed.

When asked by reporters about the investigation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “It’s obvious that there are different versions being considered. Let’s call it a deliberate act of atrocity.”

Peskov responded that the circumstances of the crash made it a different case, but cautioned investigators that they had not yet reached any formal conclusions about the exact events.

Peskov stated, “Let us wait for the outcome of our Russian investigation.”

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The private Embraer plane on which Prigozhin, a top Wagner figure from Moscow, was traveling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow on August 23, killing all 10 passengers on board. This included Prigozhin’s four bodyguards as well as two other Wagner figures.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but villagers who were near the scene reported to Reuters that they heard a loud bang before seeing the jet fall.

The plane crashed two months after Prigozhin had taken control of Rostov, a southern city in Russia’s south. It was the beginning of a mutiny that shook President Vladimir Putin’s Russia to its foundations.

The Brazilian agency Reuters reported that Russia informed Brazil’s aircraft investigator authority it would not investigate the crash of a Brazilian-made Embraer jet (EMBR3.SA), under international standards, “at this time”.

Peskov responded to a question about the report by saying: “First, an investigation is underway, the Investigative Commission is involved in this.”

Peskov stated that “in this case, there is no need to discuss any international aspects.”

The Interstate Aviation Committee, which is responsible for investigating aviation accidents in former Soviet republics, including Russia, made an unusual statement. It said that it did not investigate the crash and would not comment on the “circumstances” of the incident.

Putin expressed his condolences the day following the crash to the families who lost loved ones. He said he knew Prigozhin since the chaotic early 1990s.

Putin described him as an accomplished businessman, but also said that he had a “difficult fate”.

The Kremlin rejected the “absolute lies” of some Western politicians and analysts who have made this claim without providing any evidence.

Joe Biden, the U.S. president, said that he wasn’t surprised by this death. He also stated that there was little that happened in Russia without Putin being involved.

Putin, after Prigozhin died, ordered Wagner fighters in Russia to swear allegiance to their country. This was a move that Prigozhin opposed because he felt the Russian defence ministry could lose the Ukraine war.

On Wednesday, Prigozhin’s followers laid flowers, poems, and messages at his grave, hailing him for being a brave warrior.

Prigozhin used to boast that he had the best fighting forces in the world and was one of the most feared mercenaries.

Prigozhin is portrayed by opponents such as the United States as a brutal leader who plunders African states and kills those who cross him with sledgehammers.

Prigozhin, who captured Bakhmut in the bloodiest battle of the Ukraine War for Putin, became enraged at what he called the treacherous failures of Putin’s army – and warned Russia that it could lose the whole Ukraine war.