As an aside it is perhaps a toss-up, now that we appear to have reached full time in both their careers, to evaluate whether Prigozhin or
Simon Mann was the ghastlier example of humanity at its worst, but I think the Russian won hands down on practical effectiveness. I just thought I'd throw that in while the opportunity presents itself.
A Kremlin spokesperson has dismissed claims of official involvement in the crash as "a complete lie". I do not think there is a single political spokesman for any head of state whom I would believe in these circumstances except possibly from Wellington, but most definitely not from Moscow.
What does seem more and more unlikely is the suggestion that a missile was involved in the crash. It was supported initially by some French aviation expert who swore on his mother's grave that it could only have been a missile but he stopped giving interviews today. I think the point of "missile" was to throw the blame squarely on the Russian military. If you merely blow the tail off with a sealed wine crate it's down to anyone with access to the plane on the ground and a handmade altimeter circuit.
The fact that Prigozhin had two Embraer executive jets flying at the same time almost within view of each other prior to the crash is presumably a coincidence, though not one that could conceivably have been arranged by Russian intelligence.
