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\u201cFor the very good reason he committed an act of treason against the state. The doom was on him which I\u2019m sure he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dmitry Utkin, the former Russian army officer widely believed to be Wagner\u2019s co-founder, was also listed as a passenger but Mr Baer suggested he was not a specific target, but \u201ccollateral\u201d.<\/p>\n
Referring to 62-year-old Prigozhin, he continued: \u201cDon\u2019t count on a trustworthy investigation, but I think we\u2019ll see pictures of his body.<\/p>\n
Mr Baer, who is also the author of a book on assassination, The Perfect Kill, was in little doubt Prigozhin\u2019s death was precisely that.<\/p>\n
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Asked who was responsible, he referenced two individuals who were targeted in the UK: \u201cPutin. Just as he signed off on [Sergei] Skripal and [Alexander] Litvinenko.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis obviously was an emphatic act, a message to the military and anyone else thinking about challenging Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Baer said the message had been reinforced by Putin\u2019s televised remarks yesterday, during which he said Prigozhin was a \u201ctalented businessman\u201d who had nevertheless made \u201cmistakes\u201d.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cIt was a not-so subtle warning to any would-be coup plotters.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Don’t miss… <\/strong> Mr Baer also said Prigozhin will have spent the last two months \u201cwaiting for the hammer to fall\u201d after his aborted mutiny which saw his forces occupy Rostov-on-Don before heading to Moscow, during which they came to within 130 miles of the capital before the operation was called off.<\/p>\n Describing Prigozhin as being driven by \u201csome fatalistic streak in Russians I\u2019m unable to understand\u201d, he added: \u201cI wonder if on June 23 he thought he\u2019d get more support in the military than he did.\u201d<\/p>\n A preliminary US intelligence assessment has suggested Prigozhin was \u201cvery likely\u201d the target of an intentional explosion which downed the plane on Wednesday, according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n However, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said press reports that a surface-to-air missile took down the plane were inaccurate.<\/p>\n He also declined to say whether the US suspected a bomb or believed the crash was an assassination.<\/p>\n US President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said: \u201cI don\u2019t know for a fact what happened.<\/p>\n “But I\u2019m not surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not much that happens in Russia that Putin\u2019s not behind.”<\/p>\n
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