By EMMA BURROWS and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that the plane crash presumed to have killed Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion, U.S. and Western officials said Thursday as Russian President Vladimir Putin eulogized the man who staged the biggest challenge to his 23-year rule. One of the officials said the initial assessment determined it was “very likely” Prigozhin was targeted and that the explosion falls in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.” The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, did not offer any details on what caused the explosion, which was believed to have also killed several of Prigozhin’s lieutenants to avenge a mutiny that challenged the Russian leader’s authority. U.S.