Taking to Twitter, Mr Sushko said the shrapnel suggested the plane was targeted with a Russian S-300 air defence missile.<\/p>\n
He warned that the Kremlin would build a different narrative that would pin the blame on Prigozhin’s pilot.<\/p>\n
He said: “Expect the Kremlin narrative to blame one of Prigozhin’s pilots, Artem Stepanov, who had ‘access’ to the plane and ‘planted a bomb’.”<\/p>\n
These claims have not been independently verified, and Mr Sushko, a professional racecar driver, is not a Ukrainian government official nor a member of the intelligence community.<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n He is also the only person to issue these claims so far and previously reported that Prigozhin and Wagner founder Dmitry Utkin were identified among corpses collected from the crash site.<\/p>\n Only Russian authorities have claimed the pair died, with national intelligence agencies yet to officially confirm the Wagner chief’s death.<\/p>\n In its latest briefing, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said there is “not yet definitive proof” that he has died.<\/p>\n The MoD update did concede that it is “highly likely” the mercenary leader died, however.<\/p>\n The briefing stated: “There is not yet definitive proof that Prigozhin was onboard, and he is known to exercise exceptional security measures. However, it is highly likely that he is indeed dead.”<\/p>\n The MoD added that the death would cause a “leadership vacuum” that will be “compounded by the reports that founder and field commander Dimitry Utkin and Logistics chief Valery Chekalov also died.”<\/p>\n
Prigozhin’s ‘difficult fate’ has ‘complex implications’ for Putin[ANALYSIS] <\/strong>
Putin\u2019s condolences to the family of \u2018talented\u2019 Wagner chiff who \u2018made mistakes'[INSIGHT] <\/strong>
Putin \u2018entitled to \u00a3200k FBI reward\u2019 if he admits he killed Prigozhin in crash[REPORT] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Yevgeny-Prigozhin-plane-Russia-missile-4926881.jpg?r=1692960841756\")
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