Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied allegations from the West that the Kremlin may have been involved in the plane crash in which Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was presumably killed.
"Now there is a lot of speculation around this catastrophe, around the tragic death of the passengers of the plane, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, in the West, all these speculations are presented from a certain angle. All this is an absolute lie," Peskov told reporters. He added that Moscow still does not have "many facts" and stressed investigations into the crash are ongoing.
Earlier, United States President Joe Biden commented on the crash by saying that "there's not much that happens in Russia that [President Vladimir] Putin's not behind." Meanwhile, American and British media reported, citing US and UK defense officials, that Prigozhin's plane was shot down by Moscow. However, the Pentagon said it has "no information so far to corroborate" these reports.
