The Kremlin accused The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of publishing "pulp fiction" on December 22 after the U.S. newspaper reported that the death of mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash had been orchestrated by Russian security official Nikolai Patrushev. The WSJ reported that Prigozhin's private plane was downed by a small bomb placed under a wing. Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, led a mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin in June and died in the plane crash on August 23.
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