Putin suggests plane of Wagner boss Prigozhin was blown up by hand grenades on board

Police officers keep guard at a checkpoint near the site of the crash of a private jet linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Tver region, Russia, August 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested that the plane crash which killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in August was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, not by a missile attack.

The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three.