Global reaction to possible death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin | Russia-Ukraine war News
Russia’s ministry for emergency scenario proclaims crash of a non-public aircraft travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg saying Wagner chief Prigozhin was on the passenger listing.
Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a non-public jet that crashed north of Moscow, killing all 10 individuals, the Russian authorities mentioned.
It stays to be confirmed if the Wagner chief had really boarded the flight.
Since the rise up by Wagner forces in June, Prigozhin was seen as the largest problem to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority since he got here to energy.
Here is how the world reacted to the crash and the reported death of Prigozhin:
US: Biden ‘not surprised’
President Joe Biden says he was “not surprised” at information that Prigozhin might have died in a aircraft crash in Russia.
“I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden mentioned, including, “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer.”
In a press release, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson additionally mentioned that “If confirmed, no one should be surprised,” by the obvious death. “The disastrous war in Ukraine led to a private army marching on Moscow, and now — it would seem — to this.”
France: ‘Reasonable doubts’ over Prigozhin aircraft crash
Paris mentioned that there have been “reasonable doubts” in regards to the trigger of the aircraft crash that presumably killed Prigozhin.
“We don’t yet know the circumstances of this crash. We can have some reasonable doubts,” authorities spokesman Olivier Veran instructed France 2 tv.
Asked about US President Joe Biden’s feedback, Veran agreed that “as a general rule, that’s a truth that can be established”.
Prigozhin was “the man who did Putin’s dirty work. What he has done is inseparable from the policies of Putin, who gave him responsibility to carry out abuses as the head of Wagner”, he mentioned.
“Prigozhin leaves behind him mass graves. He leaves behind him messes across a large part of the globe, I’m thinking of Africa, Ukraine, and Russia itself.”
Ukraine: ‘Worth waiting for the fog of war’ to clear
Presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on social media the crash of the aircraft was a sign from the Kremlin to anybody who confirmed disloyalty however that it was value ready for the “fog of war” to clear earlier than making concrete conclusions.
“The demonstrative elimination of Prigozhin and the Wagner command two months after the coup attempt is a signal from Putin to Russia’s elites ahead of the 2024 elections. ‘Beware! Disloyalty equals death’”, Podolyak wrote.
About Prigozhin: It is value ready for the fog of war to disappear… Meanwhile, it’s apparent that Putin doesn’t forgive anybody for his personal bestial terror. Exactly the one which nullified him in June 2023. And he was ready for the second. It can also be apparent that Prigozhin…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) August 23, 2023
Estonia: Putin will ‘eliminate opponents’
Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, in an interview with CNN, mentioned Putin will “eliminate opponents and that scares anyone who is thinking of expressing opinion different than his”.
Poland: Putin’s opponents ‘do not die naturally’
Polish overseas minister Zbigniew Rau instructed state information channel TVP Info, “We would have great trouble naming anyone who would intuitively think this was a coincidence. It so happens that political opponents whom Vladimir Putin considers a threat to his power do not die naturally.”
UK: ‘Avoid jumping to conclusions’
Schools minister Nick Gibb says the federal government should “avoid jumping to conclusions” over the aircraft crash in Russia that reportedly killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
He mentioned the federal government is monitoring the scenario intently and dealing with its allies.
“I can’t go any further at the moment,” he added. “But of course, the government will have more to say once our assessment of it has happened, and conversations with allies reach clear conclusions.”
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, posted on the social media platform X that UK defence sources had instructed the British state broadcaster that the Russian federal safety service most probably introduced the aircraft down.
UK defence sources inform BBC: Prigozhin’s aircraft most probably introduced down by Russia’s FSB home intel company. Likely to strengthen place of Prigozhin’s enemies: Shoigu and Gerasimov. #Prigozhin
— Frank Gardner (@FrankRGardner) August 24, 2023
Germany: ‘No quick conclusions can be drawn’
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned in opposition to hypothesis over the crash of the aircraft which authorities mentioned was carrying Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“No quick conclusions can be drawn,” she instructed Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday.
However, she mentioned, the incident underscores “that a system, that a power, that a dictatorship that is built on violence, will also only recognize violence internally.”
Asked in regards to the future of the mercenary power, Baerbock mentioned she feared “Russia will continue with its cynical game, with or without Wagner, not only in Ukraine but above all in Africa.”
Sweden: ‘Unclear’ what the crash means for Russia
Sweden’s overseas minister, Tobias Billstrom, said that it remained “unclear” what the crash meant for Russia and the war in Ukraine.
He added that Sweden and its worldwide companions have been following the incident intently.
