The Kremlin dismissed Western claims that Russian mercenary commander Yevgeny Prigozhin was assassinated on its instructions as an "absolute lie," but hesitating to confirm his death unequivocally, citing the need to await test findings, news agency Reuters reported. According to Russia's aviation authorities, Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group, was on board a private plane that crashed on Wednesday evening northwest of Moscow, leaving no survivors.
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin conveyed his sympathies to Prigozhin's family, breaking his silence following the disaster, which occurred precisely two months to the day after Prigozhin staged a failed rebellion against army commanders.
Putin reported "preliminary information" indicating that Prigozhin and his senior Wagner mercenary group partners had all been slain, and while praising Prigozhin, claiming he had also made some "serious mistakes."
Without providing evidence, Western politicians and commentators have suggested that Putin ordered Prigozhin's death to punish him for leading the June 23-34 mutiny against the army's leadership, which also represented the biggest challenge to Putin's own rule since he came to power in 1999.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said the charge and others like it were baseless.
Speaking with media, Peskov stated: "There is now a great deal of speculation surrounding this plane crash and the tragic deaths of the plane's passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, in the West, all this speculation is presented from a well-known angle."
"All of this is an absolute lie, and here, when covering this issue, it is necessary to base yourself on facts. There are not many facts yet. They need to be established in the course of investigative actions," he was quoted by Reuters in its report.
Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov chastised US President Joe Biden for expressing astonishment at Prigozhin's death in an aircraft accident, accusing Biden of flouting diplomatic conventions.
Russian officials have launched an investigation into what happened, but have yet to reveal what they believe led the jet to crash-land northwest of Moscow.
They have also not publicly authenticated the identity of the ten corpses discovered in the wreckage.
When asked if the Kremlin had received formal confirmation of Prigozhin's death, Peskov said: "If you listened carefully to the Russian president's statement, he said that all the necessary tests, including genetic tests, will now be carried out. The official results - as soon as they are ready to be published, will be published."
Peskov, who stated that Putin had not recently met with Prigozhin, also stated that it was unknown how long the testing and investigation would take.
As a result, it was difficult to speculate on whether Putin would attend Prigozhin's burial, according to Peskov in response to a query on the matter.
"There are no dates for the funeral 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 the moment," he stated.