VLADIMIR Putin has accused former Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin of getting high and playing with grenades onboard the flight that ended in his fiery death.
The Russian despot trumpeted the bizarre theory that the mercenary chief and his lieutenants' own cocaine and explosive-filled chaos led to the downing of their jet on August 23.
In an address last night in front of Russia's oligarchs and businessmen, Putin insisted "there was no external influence" on the private plane which came down between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Instead, the Russian president brazenly implied that the Wagner bosses snorted cocaine and started setting off hand grenades in the cabin.
“The head of the Investigative Committee reported to me just the other day that hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of those killed in the plane crash,” he added.
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While Putin noted the probe was still ongoing and stopped short of exact cause of the crash - his statement seemed a direct attempt to further discredit Prigozhin and rid himself of any blame in the crash that killed all ten onboard.
As Putin continued his seemingly outlandish argument, he stated that investigators haven't tested the remains for alcohol and drugs.
His 'evidence', instead, was that 5kg of cocaine was found among Prigozhin's cash and weapons when police raided the Wagner Group's headquarters.
"Apostle of Payback" Putin is widely thought to have ordered the assassination of Prigozhin and Wagner's top officials exactly two months after he staged a failed coup.
Putin's former lap dog was widely believed to be living on borrowed time after Putin blasted his moves as "treason" and a "knife in the back" of Russian people and vowed revenge.
Just days after his death, Putin seemed to have dramatically softened his tone and called his former "favourite chef" a " complex" man.
“He was a man with a complex fate. [Sometimes] he made mistakes; and [sometimes] he got the results he wanted — for himself and in response to my requests, for a common cause," the tyrant announced.
The Wagner Group and its supporters quickly came out to declare their suspicions that Putin was responsible.
They also have thrown out unsubstantiated theories that Prigozhin's body double had been on the plane, while the 62-year-old had quietly escaped abroad.
But the presence of his mother and son Pavel Prigozhin at the traditional Russian graveside ceremony have further credited the official line that he is dead.
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Ceremonies were held in Moscow and dozens of other cities to mark the 40th day since his death.
They were attended by thousands of Russians, but ignored by state TV.
His rarely-seen son, 25, is set to inherit the Wagner chief's £100m empire which includes pro-Putin propaganda troll factories.
A eulogy to Prigozhin on a Wagner Telegram channel said: "He can be criticised for certain events, but he was a patriot who defended the motherland's interests on different continents…
"He was charismatic and importantly he was close to the fighters and to the people. And that's why he became popular both in Russia and abroad.”
The terms of Prigozhin's will suggests his son Pavel will have to provide for the family now, including the Wagner chief's mother, Violetta.
If Pavel dies, the huge fortune is set to be divided amongst Prigozhin's widow Lyubov, Pavel's two sisters and the Wagner boss' grandchild.
Reports suggest the grandchild is Pavel's son, according to The Times.
Prigozhin was buried next to his biological father Viktor in his hometown after a small funeral that a paranoid Putin refused to attend.
Reports said only his close family and friends were allowed to go, amounting to around 30 people gathering to say goodbye to the failed coup leader.
The Kremlin was seemingly desperate to avoid a mass gathering over fears that Wagner's mercenaries and their legion of fans might seize an opportunity to make trouble.
It comes as Putin's war dog Ramzan Kadyrov who - like Prigozhin - supplied troops to his war against Ukraine, miraculously seemed to recover from his serious illness.
Just weeks ago he was reported to be in critical condition in a coma after suffering from a "mystery illness".
There were even claims on Telegram channels that he had died.
Kadyrov was reported to have blamed his illness - believed to be an acute kidney ailment - on poisoning.
Then a bizarre video showed the two leaders meeting in Moscow, although many have speculated that it was actually filmed over a month ago.
