Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, has vehemently denied claims suggesting that the Kremlin was behind the demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Gatekeepers News reports that Prigozhin, the head of the private military company Wagner Group, was reportedly presumed dead on Wednesday following the inclusion of his name among the casualties of a plane crash by Russia’s air transport agency.
The Wagner Group had been operating alongside Russian forces in Ukraine until its leader initiated a rebellion against Putin’s authority.
Concerns about Prigozhin’s safety were raised by United States President Joe Biden following the failed mutiny.
This uprising was perceived as the most significant challenge to Putin’s leadership in his 24-year tenure.
“I said I would be careful what I rode in. I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden said after Prigozhin’s death was announced.
The US president added that there is “not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind, but I don’t know enough to know the answer”.
While addressing journalists on Thursday, Peskov firmly refuted Western assertions that Putin played a role in Prigozhin’s demise, deeming such claims an “absolute lie.”
Peskov clarified that Putin had not engaged with Prigozhin in recent times and emphasized that an ongoing investigation was underway to uncover the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, expressed strong disapproval of Biden’s statements regarding Prigozhin’s passing, deeming them unacceptable.
