Russia dismisses Wall Street Journal’s ‘pulp fiction’

The Kremlin accused the Wall Street Journal of publishing “pulp fiction” on Friday after it 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 jet was downed by a small bomb placed under a wing. Its report cited unnamed Western intelligence officials and a former Russian intelligence officer.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had seen the story but would not comment on it, before adding: “Lately, unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal has been very fond of producing pulp fiction.”
Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group that fought for Russia in Ukraine, waged a long-running feud with the defence establishment that culminated in an outright mutiny in late June. It ended quickly but was widely seen as a serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s almost quarter-century-old grip on power.