Putin Reveals Grenade Fragments Found in Wagner Chief's Crashed Plane

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a revealing statement on Thursday suggesting that the crash of the plane carrying Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin in August was not due to an “external” attack. Instead, it seems hand grenades within the plane might have played a pivotal role.

During his speech at the Valdai Forum in Sochi, Putin detailed that the "chairman of the investigative committee reported a few days ago that fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims. There was no external influence on the plane, this is an established fact."

Prigozhin, once responsible for spearheading a failed coup against the Kremlin, and nine others were tragically killed when their private plane crashed in a field northwest of Moscow. The plane was headed to St. Petersburg at the time of the incident.

Although the Kremlin has continuously denied any involvement in the crash, Putin did not elaborate on how grenades could have detonated on the plane. He did, however, express his disappointment at the investigative committee for not conducting drug or alcohol tests on the deceased victims. He went on to mention that Russian security forces had previously discovered "10 billion in cash and 5 kilos of cocaine" in Wagner’s St. Petersburg office.

In a shocking turn of events two months prior to the crash, Prigozhin and his Wagner troops had initiated an uprising against Russia’s military leadership, marking the most significant threat to Putin's reign in recent history. However, the rebellion was short-lived, culminating in an agreement that relocated Prigozhin and his mercenaries to Belarus.

While Russian officials remain tight-lipped about the exact cause of the crash, speculating possibilities ranging from an accident to a "deliberate atrocity", global opinions differ. Western intelligence agencies, including the U.S., believe the crash was intentional. US President Joe Biden even hinted at Putin’s possible involvement, stating in August, “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised.”

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin's spokesman, has firmly rebuffed any theories implicating the Kremlin in the crash, dismissing them as "absolute lies".