Putin: The plane crash in which Prigozhin died was caused by a hand grenade

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that the August plane crash that killed the head of Wagner's mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was caused by hand grenades detonated inside the plane, rather than a missile attack.

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

Putin suggested the plane was blown up from the inside, saying the head of Russia's investigative committee had informed him several days ago, Reuters reports.

"Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the accident," Putin said at a meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"There was no external influence on the plane – that's already an established fact," Putin said.

Putin did not provide further details on how the shell or multiples could have been detonated on the plane, but said he thought investigators had erred in failing to conduct alcohol and drug tests on the bodies of those who died in the crash "given that that cocaine was found in the past in Wagner's office in St. Petersburg".

Accident investigators have yet to publicly report on the cause.

Prigozhin's rebellion was the biggest challenge to Putin's rule since the former KGB spy came to power in 1999. Western diplomats say it exposed pressure on Russia during the war in Ukraine.