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Rumours that Russia ordered the killing of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who perished in an aircraft crash, are dismissed as a “absolute lie” by the Kremlin.
The circumstances surrounding the accident on Wednesday evening, which occurred precisely two months after Wagner’s failed rebellion against Russia’s military system, sparked rumours of a possible killing.
As the coup developed on June 23-24, Putin stated that the perpetrators would “inevitably be punished.” Following the mutiny, an agreement was negotiated with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to move Wagner to Belarus.
“There is a lot of speculation around the plane crash and the tragic death of the passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin… All this is an absolute lie,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a briefing.
He refused to say if Putin planned to attend Prigozhin’s burial, citing the president’s “tight schedule.” Following rumours that Prigozhin was a recipient of the Hero of Russia title, which confers hero’s burial rituals, questions arose about the funeral’s arrangement.
Peskov also declined to comment on Wagner’s future without its high-profile commander and separated the Kremlin from the private military business, despite Putin’s own admission that the private military corporation was supported by the Russian state.
While there is no definitive confirmation Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board the crashed jet, the UK Ministry of Defence believes he is dead.
Serhiy Kruk, the chief of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, has been fired following an internal investigation into the organisation.
Putin stated only days after Wagner’s failed mutiny that Prigozhin’s primary firm Concord had received 80 billion rubles ($888.1 million) in catering contracts with the Defence Ministry in the previous year.
Peskov earlier acknowledged that Putin met with Prigozhin and 34 Wagner commanders on June 29 in the Kremlin, offering them “employment and combat options.”
He denied seeing Putin and Prigozhin later that day on Friday.
Glamour Adah
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