Denying Allegations Of Being Behind The Death Of Prigozhin, Kremlin: All Of This Is A Lie

The Kremlin said the Western allegation that it was behind the death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin as a lie, said it had to wait for the test to find out what really happened.

Prigozhin and Wagner commander Dmitry Tentin and a number of other people were killed by the helicopter they were traveling in, crashed late Wednesday evening in northwestern Moscow, according to Russian aviation authorities.

President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to their families who died in the crash on Thursday. In addition to praising Prigozhin, President Putin also said his ally had made several serious mistakes.

Meanwhile, Western politicians and commentators stated, without providing evidence, President Putin ordered the killing of Prigozhin as a punishment for allegedly launching an uprising on June 23-34 against military leaders, who is also the biggest challenge to Putin's government since he came to power in 1999.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the allegations and several other similar allegations were false.

"Now there is a lot of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic death of airplane passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, in the West, all of this speculation is presented from a well-known point of view," Peskov told reporters.

"All of this is a lie, and here covering this issue needs to be based on facts. There are not many facts. It needs to be proven in the investigation process," explained Peskov.

On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov scolded US President Joe Biden for revealing his surprise at Prigozhin's death in a plane crash, calling it ignoring diplomatic norms.

Meanwhile, Russian investigators have opened an investigation into what happened, but have not said what they suspect is the cause of the plane's sudden crash.

They also have not officially confirmed the identities of the 10 bodies found at the crash site of the plane.

When asked if the Kremlin had received official confirmation of Prigozhin's death, Peskov said: "If you listen closely to the Russian President's statement, he said that all necessary tests, including genetic tests, will now be carried out. Official results - as soon as they are ready to be published, will be published."

Peskov, who said President Putin had not met Prigozhin recently, also said it was unclear how long it would take for the tests and investigations.

"Therefore, it is impossible to start talking about whether President Putin will attend Prigozhin's funeral," Peskov said when answering questions about the matter.

"There is no funeral date yet, it is impossible to talk about it at all. The only thing I can say is that the president has a rather busy schedule at this time," he said.

When asked about the future of the Wagner Group, which has a series of lucrative contracts across Africa and a contingent in Belarus that trains soldiers there, now appears to have no leader, Kremlin spokesman Peskov briefly replied.

"I can't tell you anything right now, I don't know," he concluded.