Biden unsurprised by report of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he was not surprised by reports that Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had died in a plane crash, adding that not much happens in the country that President Vladimir Putin is not behind.

Analysts said the incident could be a way for Putin to warn others who might betray him or to show his support to the Russian military, whom Prigozhin undermined with an abortive armed mutiny in June.Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet that crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, according to Russian authorities.Reuters could not confirm that he was on the aircraft, though a Telegram channel linked to Wagner pronounced him dead.The White House said Biden had been briefed on the crash and he told reporters he did not know for a fact what had happened.”But I’m not surprised,” Biden said.”There is not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind, but I don’t know enough to know the answer.”

via Reuters