Metropolis Desk-
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary force, was named as a passenger on the private plane that crashed outside of Moscow, killing all 10 people on board, according to Russian police.
If the Wagner CEO got on the plane has yet to be established.
Prigozhin has been viewed as the greatest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority since his ascent to power since the Wagner forces’ uprising in June.
Here is how the world reacted to the crash and Prigozhin’s alleged demise:
Biden says he is unsurprised.
The news that Prigozhin may have perished in a plane crash in Russia “not surprised” President Joe Biden, according to him.
There isn’t anything that happens in Russia that Putin isn’t behind, Biden said, adding, “I don’t know for sure what happened, but I’m not surprised.” However, my knowledge is insufficient to know the solution.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, added in a statement that “if confirmed, no one should be surprised” by the sudden demise. A private army marched on Moscow as a result of the tragic war in Ukraine, and now it appears that something similar has happened.
‘Reasonable doubts’ regarding the Prigozhin plane disaster, according to France
According to Paris, there are “reasonable doubts” regarding what caused the plane crash that killed Prigozhin, presumably.
“The specifics of this crash are still unknown. Speaking on behalf of the government, Olivier Veran told France 2 television that “we can have some reasonable doubts.”
Veran concurred that “as a general rule, that’s a truth that can be established” when asked about US Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks.
Prigozhin was “the man who did Putin’s dirty work. What he has done is inseparable from the policies of Putin, who gave him the responsibility to carry out abuses as the head of Wagner”, he said.
“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.”
“Worth waiting for the fog of war to clear”: Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, informed journalists working for the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that his country was not responsible for the disaster. “We played no part in it. Everyone is aware of the parties involved.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, a presidential assistant, stated on social media that the jet crash was a warning to anyone who displayed disloyalty from the Kremlin, but that it was “worth waiting for the fog of war to disappear” before drawing any firm 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.
Putin will “eliminate opponents,” says Estonia
Putin would “eliminate opponents, and that scares anyone who is thinking of expressing opinion different from his,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated in a CNN interview.
Poland: Putin’s adversaries “do not die naturally”
Zbigniew Rau, the foreign minister of Poland, told TVP Info that it would be difficult to name someone who would naively believe this was a coincidence. Unfortunately, political rivals whom Vladimir Putin views as a danger to his authority do not pass away organically.
Sweden: ‘Unclear’ what the disaster means for Russia
Tobias Billstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden, said that it was still “unclear” what the crash meant for Russia and the conflict in Ukraine.
He continued by saying that Sweden and its allies abroad were closely monitoring the issue.
Lithuania: Prigozhin’s passing had “little impact”
The presumptive passing of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the president of Lithuania, does not increase regional security.
“We shouldn’t think that Prigozhin’s death makes us feel calmer or that it somehow improves the security situation,” Gitanas Nauseda stated.
Even if proven, he continued, it “makes little difference” to the security of the region.
Source- Al-Jazeera
