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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said fragments of a hand grenade were found in the victims who died in a deadly August plane crash that killed 10 people, including Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.<\/p>\n
Putin said the crash investigation was not yet complete, but there was no \u201cexternal influence on the aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at a foreign policy think tank forum in the Russian city of Sochi, Putin also said cocaine and \u201clots of cash\u201d were found near the debris of the plane.<\/p>\n
The Kremlin has denied any role in the plane crash but said in late August that \u201cdeliberate wrongdoing\u201d was likely behind it.<\/p>\n
The plane crashed outside of Moscow, killing Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, a top commander of the private military company Wagner Group, among others.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has said Prigozhin\u2019s death is in line with how Putin has acted in the past to take out his enemies.<\/p>\n
Officials in the Biden administration also concluded an internal explosion downed the plane, but they have not provided specific details on what may have caused the crash.<\/p>\n
Videos showed the plane exploding in midair before debris rained down onto a nearby field, but it is not clear what caused the explosion.<\/p>\n
Prigozhin led thousands of Wagner troops against Putin in June and only halted the rebellion after reaching a deal with the Russian president. In the agreement, the mercenary company chief agreed to exile himself in Belarus in return for terrorism charges being dropped.<\/p>\n
Putin has since moved to absorb most of the Wagner Group<\/a> and announced Thursday that thousands of fighters have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.<\/p>\n He said it was a \u201cbig mistake\u201d to not have these private soldiers under contract before, but he questioned their continued role in Russian affairs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether we need them or not, we will think about it,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n