Initial U.S. Assessment of Prigozhin's Death; Putin Expresses Condolences

U.S. officials stated that the plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, crashed as a result of a conspiracy to assassinate him. According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials indicated that the aircraft does not appear to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Based on preliminary assessments from Washington, which officials emphasized are still incomplete, a bomb exploded on the plane carrying Prigozhin or some other form of sabotage caused it to crash in northwestern Moscow. The Russian government has stated that it is investigating the cause of the plane's crash but has not provided an explanation. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, who is accused of being involved in Prigozhin's death, expressed his 'condolences' to Prigozhin's family in a message. According to CNN, this is his first message since the crash of Prigozhin's plane. Putin described Prigozhin as a 'talented' man with a difficult fate. The Wall Street Journal reported that social media accounts close to Wagner, belonging to Prigozhin, claimed that the plane was shot down by a Russian army anti-aircraft missile. In St. Petersburg, Prigozhin's hometown, people placed bouquets, candles, and military pieces with the Wagner group emblem outside a building that once housed his company's headquarters. Many Telegram channels close to the Wagner group published a video showing a fighter in Wagner attire kneeling and crying outside the former Wagner office in Novosibirsk, a city in southern Russia. The Wall Street Journal writes that, like previous deaths of Vladimir Putin's rivals, the Kremlin is likely to create confusion about who killed Prigozhin. Russian state media are currently starting to present conflicting possibilities, ranging from blaming Ukraine to suggesting that a rival of Prigozhin planted a bomb on his plane. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the 62-year-old leader of the Wagner mercenary group, led an armed rebellion on June 24, advancing his forces from the Ukrainian border to within 200 kilometers of Moscow but ended his rebellion against Vladimir Putin following a deal mediated by Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus. The story of the 'controversial Wagner commander' ends; Prigozhin's death has been confirmed. Biden's reaction to the crash of the Wagner leader's plane: 'I was not surprised by his death.' Reports of the founder of the Wagner mercenary group being killed in a plane crash in Russia. Two Russian news agencies: General Armageddon has been dismissed from his position as commander of the Russian Air Force.