Aug 23 (Reuters) – Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger of a private jet that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday evening with no survivors, Russian authorities said.
Reuters could not immediately confirm that he was on the plane. The following is a response:
*U.S. National Security Spokesperson Adrienne Watson:
“We’ve seen the reports. If they’re confirmed, no one should be surprised.”
*Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia, to CNN:
“If true, it shows that Putin will eliminate opponents and that scares anyone who thinks of expressing a different opinion than his own.”
*British lawmaker Alicia Kearns, Chair of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, on social media platform X:
“The speed with which the Russian government has confirmed that Yevgeny Prigozhin was on a plane that crashed on a flight from Moscow to St Petersburg should tell us everything we need to know. Reports that Russian air defenses shot down the plane show Putin sending a very loud warning. message.”
*Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on state news channel TVP Info
“…We would have great difficulty 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.”
(Edited by Cynthia Osterman)
