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The assassination of warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin was “set in motion” by Vladimir Putin’s closest security aide, Nikolai Patrushev, it was reported today.
Progozhin, formerly close to Putin and head of Wagner’s private army, died in a plane crash in August, months after launching a failed coup against the Kremlin.
Now, a Wall Street Journal investigation says a “small explosive device” was “slipped under the wing” and that the shadowy former head of the FSB security service, Patrushev, 72, was behind the murder.
Putin, 71, suggested in October that Prigozhin and his associates were high on cocaine when they detonated hand grenades on their commercial plane.
He stated that “fragments of hand grenades were discovered in the bodies of those who died in the plane crash.”
The assassination of warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin was “set in motion” by Vladimir Putin’s closest security aide Nikolai Patrushev, it was reported today.
Progozhin, formerly close to Putin and head of Wagner’s private army, died in a plane crash in August, months after launching a failed coup against the Kremlin.
Putin, 71, suggested in October that Prigozhin and his associates were high on cocaine when they detonated hand grenades on their commercial plane.
But the newspaper quoted a former Russian intelligence officer as saying that Patrushev “in his office in central Moscow, gave orders to his assistant to proceed to design an operation to get rid of Progozhin,” who had led the failed armed coup against Putin’s high command in June. .
Western intelligence agencies said Putin “was later shown the plans and did not object,” according to the report. This suggested that Putin had given his blessing.
The Kremlin had previously denied that Putin was involved in ordering the murder of former ally Prigozhin and today claimed that the WSJ report was “pulp fiction.”
The dictator’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: “We saw this material, but we would not like to comment on it.
“It is unlikely that these materials can be commented on.”
The WSJ said the bomb was placed on Prigozhin’s Embraer Legacy 600 before it took off with Prigozhin and nine other people on board.
Among the others were his Wagner military commander, Dmitry Utkin, 53, and stewardess Kristina Raspopova, 39, who had revealed to her relatives a mysterious delay in the departure of the flight carrying the warlord.
They were all killed when the plane flew out of the sky at 28,000 feet, about 30 minutes after it took off from Moscow bound for St. Petersburg.
Western intelligence agencies said Putin “was shown the plans and did not object,” according to the new report. This suggested that Putin (seen on the right with Prigozhin) had given him his blessing.
A Wall Street Journal investigation says a “small explosive device” was “slipped under the wing” and that obscure former FSB security service chief Nikolai Patrushev (pictured in November), 72, was behind the murder.
Crash site of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet in the Tver region, Russia, in August 2023
A Kremlin source was quoted as saying of Prigozhin that after the coup attempt “he had to be removed.”
Patrushev, 72, is known to wield extraordinary influence in the Kremlin, with some even claiming he is the true source of power in Russia.
He is described as Putin’s “oldest ally and confidant”, and his official position is secretary of the security council, headed by the president.
He had allegedly warned Putin that Prigozhin was becoming too powerful and a loose weapon in the Russian power structure.
Patrushev is widely believed to be seeking his son Dmitry, 46, to replace Putin as president when the long-time dictator steps down.
Dmitry is currently Minister of Agriculture.
The newspaper quoted a former CIA station chief, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, explaining the time lapse between the failed coup and the alleged assassination.
“You can see what Putin’s plan was: to keep the dead man walking so they could continue to find out what happened,” he said.
Russian media reported that DNA testing confirmed that Prigozhin, known for using body doubles, had died in the crash.
Also killed in the accident was stewardess Kristina Raspopova, 39, who had revealed to her family a mysterious delay in the departure of the flight carrying the warlord.
Reports that he had been tipped off and had missed the plane and had now fled abroad are considered conspiracy theories.
Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergey Markov said the West was seeking to discredit Patrushev, considered a hardliner.
“Apparently the West now wants negotiations on Ukraine and for some reason really doesn’t like Patrushev and wants to kick him off Putin’s team,” he said.
The official investigation of the Russian plane crash is shrouded in secrecy.