Western politicians and commentators have suggested, without presenting evidence, that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in order to punish him for launching the June 23-34 mutiny against the army’s leadership which also represented the biggest challenge to Putin’s own rule since he came to power in 1999.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the accusation and many others like it were false.

[“Without evidence” may be true in the legal sense. However, how often do Embraer jets spontaneously explode over Russian airspace? And while carrying former mutineers who challenged Putin’s power? — Ed]