Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary chief was listed as a passenger on a private jet that crashed north of Moscow, causing 10 lives, the authorities of Russia said.
It is still unconfirmed if the Wagner chief had entered the flight.
Since Wagner forces rebels in June, Prigozhin has been noticed as the biggest threat to Vladimir Putin, the Russian President’s management since he came to authority.
Here is how the world reacted to the possible death of Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin:
The United States
Joe Biden, the President of the United States said he was not surprised at news. There’s not much that occurs in Russia that Russian President, Putin’s not behind, he added.
Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine told journalists that we had nothing to do with that crash that killed Prigozhin but everyone knows who had something to do with it,
France
Mykhaylo Podolyak, the Presidential aide wrote on social media that the plane crash was an indication from Putin to Russia’s elites ahead of the 2024 elections. ‘Beware! Disloyalty equals death, he wrote.
There were “reasonable doubts” about the reason for the jet crash that probably caused Prigozhin’s life, Olivier Veran, the government spokesperson said.
When he asked about Biden’s comments, he responded that as a general rule, that’s a fact that can be specified
Estonia
Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia said in an interview with CNN that Putin will “eliminate enemies and that threatens anyone who is considering voicing opinion other than his”.
Poland
Zbigniew Rau, the Foreign Minister of Poland said that we would have significant risk calling anyone who would intuitively believe this was a coincidence. It so occurs that political rivals whom Vladimir Putin believes a danger to his authority do not die naturally, he added.
United Kingdom
Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister said that the government must “avoid jumping to conclusions” over the aircraft crash that reportedly caused the life of Wagner chief Prigozhin. The government is observing the matter closely and operating with its allies, he added.
Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent posted on social media that the sources of UK defence had told the UK state broadcaster that the Russian federal security service most probably carried the aircraft down.
Sweden
Tobias Billstrom, the Foreign Minister of Sweden said that it is still “unclear” what the plane crash meant for Moscow and the war in Kyiv. Sweden and its global allies were observing the incident closely, he added.
