Explosion of Prigozhin’s plane was intentional, US intelligence says
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The news: The plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the mercenary Wagner Group, crashed as a result of an intentionally caused explosion, according to a preliminary assessment by US intelligence.
The numbers: Russian investigators opened a probe into what caused the plane crash on Wednesday evening but there is no official confirmation on the identities of the 10 bodies recovered from the wreckage.
The context: US officials are considering a number of theories including that a bomb exploded in the aircraft but say it wasn’t shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Social-media channels linked to Wagner have claimed that the aircraft was downed by a Russian military anti-aircraft missile. Prigozhin had incurred Putin's wrath in June by staging an abortive armed mutiny against the army's top brass. Since the crash, the Russian President has paid tribute to the renegade mercenary, calling him a talented businessman.
