Fragments of a hand grenade were found in the bodies of the victims, after the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane - says Vladimir Putin

Fragments of a hand grenade have been found in the bodies of victims of a plane crash that killed Wagner's former boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

The plane on which Prigozhin was traveling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on 23 August, including two other key Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three.

And as foreign media reports, the Telegraph reports, Putin suggested the plane had been blown up from the inside, saying the head of Russia's investigative committee had reported to him days earlier.

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"Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the accident," Putin is quoted as saying at a meeting in the resort of Sochi. Sky News, the Telegraph reports.

"Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash. There was no external impact on the plane... Yes, unfortunately, the presence of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the victims was not examined, although we know that after the known events in the... pic.twitter.com/wli77YuSiG

- Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) October 5, 2023

"There was no outside influence on the plane - this is already a proven fact," Putin said, rejecting claims that it had crashed.

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He gave no details on how a grenade might have gone off - but he said investigators should have tested the bodies for alcohol and drugs, given that cocaine had previously been found in Wagner's offices.

Otherwise, Prigozhin is said to have been on a plane that crashed north of Moscow on August 23, two months to the day after he led a failed rebellion against senior Russian officials.

The aborted rebellion, during which he sought the ouster of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was the biggest challenge to President Putin's rule since he came to power in 1999.

Russia said it confirmed his death in the accident after genetic tests, but did not reveal the cause.

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He was buried privately in a "farewell ceremony" at a St. Petersburg cemetery last month, according to his press team. /Telegraph/