Putin said that fragments of grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in Prigozhin’s plane crash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner PMC, who died in the plane crash. He reported this at the plenary discussion session club “Valdai”. Putin stressed that there were no signs of external influence on the plane. He also expressed regret that an examination of the presence of alcohol and drugs in the blood of the victims was not carried out.

The President also said that during searches in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s office in St. Petersburg, five kilograms of cocaine were discovered, as well as 10 billion rubles in cash. He noted that an examination of the presence of drugs in the blood of the victims was necessary.

Putin said that several thousand soldiers of the Wagner PMC have already signed contracts with the Russian Armed Forces and will participate in hostilities. He admitted that individual contracts had not previously been concluded with members of PMCs, which was a mistake, since the fighters did not have social protection. The President also noted that wages for the Wagnerites were paid in cash, and this caused certain problems and injustice.

Putin emphasized that the term “private military company” is journalistic and noted that there is no law in Russia allowing the existence of private military companies.