Russia claims
it stopped a wave of Ukrainian drones
targeting Crimea.
It says it destroyed more than 40
waves over the peninsula Friday morning.
Now, this comes a day
after Ukraine reported
a brazen amphibious raid
targeting Russian infrastructure there.
Nick Payton Walsh has more
Well, Ukraine Defense Intelligence
is suggestions
that they launch a significant
amphibious assault against Crimea
is deeply important because the symbolism
the Crimea holds.
I think it's fair to say
in the eyes of many Western officials,
in the mind of Russian
President Vladimir Putin,
this is a very important part
of their occupation of Ukraine
because it was the first area
they took in 2014 almost without a shot
being fired
annex through troops infiltrating.
What Ukraine is suggesting
is that a series of amphibious assault
hit the Crimean coastline
and may have killed up
to 30 Russian troops,
essentially attacking
their infrastructure
and more importantly
impacting their psychology,
showing that even Crimea,
which I think most Russians consider
to be far enough
away from the actual
front lines of fighting
is now vulnerable
to Ukrainian
special forces are
so that's an important message
for Ukraine to send
because it has been criticized
in Western media reports for focusing
too much on Crimea.
Ukraine's response
I think would have been
that so much of Russian military
infrastructure is in that peninsula,
and that helps
Russia defend its positions
in the front parts
of the areas of Ukraine's
southern counter offensive.
But this statement
from Ukraine
essentially coming on Ukraine's
Independence Day, a bid
to project force depth
of how far they can hit Russian targets
that may have thought
they were secure otherwise,
and also to feed in
to the broader discussion
about how any promotion appears
to have died in mysterious,
if not deeply, suspicious circumstances.
Remember, the death of Prigozhin
is not by itself
isolated from the war in Ukraine.
It's another reminder
for Ukrainians
that Prigozhin led an armed rebellion
against Putin,
fought heavily
in Ukraine, for Russia
and some of the more brutal front lines,
but also to that Putin,
if indeed he is somehow
involved in this death,
still feels a threat internally
because of how Prigozhin
negatively characterized how this war
had been prosecuted.
A lot moving here
on Ukraine's Independence Day,
but battlefield change
is certainly what Kiev wants to project
as the world asks
exactly what happened to you.
Nick Paton
Walsh, CNN, for Russia, Ukraine.
And CNN's none of us here joins me now
live from London
with more on all of this.
So now to
Putin breaking his silence
on Ferguson's death.
What more reaction are we hearing?
Well, look, you heard that from Nick.
There is still a lot of suspicion
around the circumstances
of Prigozhin death.
Russian authorities say
a full investigation is underway,
but it is very much in its early stages.
We know that a full forensics
examination is taking place.
Teams will be sifting
through the wreckage
and debris
spread across
an expanse of about two kilometers
north west of Moscow.
And, of course, the Russia's
aviation authority
has already released those details
of the passengers on board.
Prigozhin and some of his top deputies
presumed to have been
killed in that crash.
And as you said that we heard
from President Putin
acknowledging this yesterday.
He expressed his condolences
to the families of the victims on board
the plane.
But he also spoke about his relationship,
his long
standing relationship with Prigozhin.
Take a listen.
Prigozhin is an ocean donor,
a new Prigozhin for a very long time
since the early nineties.
He was a man of difficult feats
and he made serious mistakes in life
and he achieved the results
needed both for himself.
And when I asked him about it
for a common cause
as saying this last month,
he was a talented man,
a talented businessman.
Now, Russian investigators
will be looking at an array
of possibilities
from possible malfunctions
or technical difficulties on board
that plane to questions around
whether this was a deliberate incident,
whether the plane was down there.
Certainly much speculation
around that, particularly, of course,
in light of that insurrection
we saw two months ago,
led by Evgeny Prigozhin.
We heard from President
Putin at the time.
He was very clear and vocal
that he viewed this incident
as an act of treason.
And there has been questions
since that day
around the possible retribution
that you've version may face as a result.
But of course,
no clear indications just yet around
what caused the plane
to crash on Wednesday.
But, of course,
we have heard from the U.S.
for its part,
defense officials
there saying
that their initial assessments
show or suggest that Evgeny Prigozhin
was indeed killed on the plane.
But at this stage,
the Pentagon has no indications
that it was shot down
by a surface to air missile.
Meanwhile, within Russia,
there has been some question,
some speculation
around the possibility of Ukraine
being behind this incident.
But President Zelensky
has been clear on this.
Ukraine had no part,
according to the president.
All right.
Thanks so much.
None of us here. Appreciate it.