Prigozhin’s plane may have been downed, says Russia

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MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the investigation into the plane crash which killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin included the possibility that it was caused deliberately, its first explicit acknowledgement that he may have been assassinated.

“It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version you know what we are talking about let’s say, a deliberate atrocity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Let’s wait for the results of our Russian investigation.”

The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on August 23.

The Kremlin also said that there could be no question of an international investigation. Russia has informed Brazil that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer jet.