Prigozhin jet crash
US President believes in Putin’s act of revenge
08/23/2023, 10:30 p.m
The reasons for the crash of Prigozhin’s private jet are still unclear. However, US President Biden is convinced that Russian President Putin had something to do with the alleged death of the mercenary boss. This is also how it is seen in Kiev.
US President Joe Biden has reacted with little surprise to the plane crash in Russia that is said to have killed Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. He didn’t know exactly what happened, but he wasn’t surprised, Biden said on the sidelines of a vacation in the US state of California. When asked by reporters if he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the crash, Biden said, “There’s not much that’s happening in Russia that Putin isn’t behind.” But he doesn’t know enough to answer that.
“We have seen what has been reported about the crash and if it is confirmed it would not come as a surprise to anyone,” said US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson. Biden was kept up to date on the situation after the plane crash in Russia, according to the White House.
Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed in the Tver region between Moscow and St. Petersburg, the Russian news agency Tass reported, citing the aviation authority. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergencies, according to initial information, all ten people on board the private plane died. The Wagner Group briefly rebelled against President Vladimir Putin in June. Until then, Prigozhin had long been considered a close confidant of Putin. Later he openly opposed the Russian military leadership.
No comment from the Kremlin
Kremlin boss Putin initially did not comment on the plane crash. He was at the time on a visit to south-west Russia on the border with Ukraine to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk during World War II. Without mentioning the crash, Putin took to the stage to praise Russian soldiers in Ukraine who were fighting “with courage and determination.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podoljak said online that the plane crash was “Putin’s signal to the Russian elites” ahead of the 2024 presidential election. It means “caution! Disloyalty means death.”