Kremlin Says Prigozhin Plane Crash May Have Been Caused Deliberately 

A portrait of PMC Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sits on his grave at the Porokhov cemetery in St Petersburg, Russia, 30 August 2023. (EPA)
A portrait of PMC Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sits on his grave at the Porokhov cemetery in St Petersburg, Russia, 30 August 2023. (EPA)
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Kremlin Says Prigozhin Plane Crash May Have Been Caused Deliberately 

A portrait of PMC Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sits on his grave at the Porokhov cemetery in St Petersburg, Russia, 30 August 2023. (EPA)
A portrait of PMC Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sits on his grave at the Porokhov cemetery in St Petersburg, Russia, 30 August 2023. (EPA)

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the investigation into the plane crash which killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin included the possibility that it was caused deliberately, its first explicit acknowledgement that he may have been assassinated.

"It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version - you know what we are talking about – let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Let's wait for the results of our Russian investigation."

The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, his four bodyguards and a crew of three.

The cause is still unclear, but villagers near the scene told Reuters they heard a bang and then saw the jet plummet to the ground.

The plane crashed exactly two months since Prigozhin took control of the southern city of Rostov in late June, the opening salvo of a mutiny which shook the foundations of President Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Russia has informed Brazil's aircraft investigation authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer jet under international rules "at the moment", the Brazilian agency told Reuters.

Asked about that report, Peskov said: "First of all, the investigation is underway, the Investigative Committee is engaged in this."

"In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect," Peskov said.



Florida Man Shot Israeli Visitors Thinking They Were Palestinians, Police Say

 Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
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Florida Man Shot Israeli Visitors Thinking They Were Palestinians, Police Say

 Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)

A Florida man was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting at a vehicle with two men who he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors, local authorities and media reports said.

The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday.

A police official confirmed earlier reports from local media that Brafman said in an interview with police that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinian. He stopped, shot at and killed them.

However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israeli visitors and not Palestinians, police said.

A representative or lawyer for Brafman could not be immediately identified by Reuters.

Human rights advocates say there has been a rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and antisemitic hate in the United States since the start of US ally Israel's war in Gaza following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian group Hamas.