‘Deliberate wrongdoing’ among possible causes of Prigozhin’s plane crash, Kremlin says

MOSCOW —  The Kremlin said Wednesday that “deliberate wrongdoing” was among the possible causes of the plane crash that killed mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week.

Speaking to reporters during his daily conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that “different versions” of what happened exist and “are being considered,” including, “let’s put [it] this way, deliberate wrongdoing.”

A business jet carrying Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the private military force Wagner, and his top lieutenants crashed halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg on Aug. 23, killing all seven passengers and three crew members.

The Interstate Aviation Committee, the Moscow-headquartered body that oversees civil aviation in Russia and most other former Soviet republics, said in an online statement Wednesday that it was not currently investigating the crash, although the agency has an accident investigation division.

Peskov said there could not be an international investigation into why the plane plummeted from the sky, and urged reporters to wait for the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to complete its review. The committee said last week that it had opened a criminal case based on charges of flight safety violations, a standard move used for plane crash investigations in Russia when there is no immediate reason to suspect foul play.

The crash occurred two months after Prigozhin mounted a short-lived armed rebellion against Russia’s military leadership, posing the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule. The Kremlin has denied involvement in the crash.

Prigozhin, 62, was buried in St. Petersburg, his hometown, in a private ceremony that was shrouded in secrecy until Tuesday evening, when representatives of the late mercenary leader revealed the location of his grave.