A preliminary assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies has concluded that the plane crash, which is assumed to have resulted in the death of Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, was deliberately caused by an explosion. U.S. and Western officials shared this information on Thursday, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tribute to the man who posed the most significant challenge to his 23-year rule.
According to one official, the initial evaluation indicated a high likelihood that Prigozhin was a deliberate target and that the explosion aligns with Putin’s “long history of attempting to suppress his critics.”
Officials who provided this information did so under the condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to comment. They did not disclose specific details regarding the cause of the explosion, which is believed to have also resulted in the deaths of several of Prigozhin’s subordinates. This incident was seen as a retaliatory measure aimed at avenging a mutiny that directly challenged the authority of the Russian leader.