BIDEN SAYS U.S. UNSURE OF WAGNER CHIEF PRIGOZHIN’S WHEREABOUTS, COULD BE POISONED

Fri 14 July 2023:

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States was unsure where Prigozhin was but quipped that the mercenary chief could be poisoned.

“If I were he, I’d be careful what I ate. I’d be keeping my eye on my menu,” Biden said, according to White House transcript.

“But all kidding aside, I — I — who knows? I don’t know. I don’t think any of us know for sure what the future of Prigozhin is in Russia.”

Mercenaries who are part of Prigozhin’s Wagner Group have been fighting alongside Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Prigozhin is known to have a long-standing feud with Russia’s top military leaders, and last month denounced Gen. Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for failing to provide Wagner fighters with ammunition.

The mercenary has repeatedly insisted his actions on June 23-24 were aimed only at settling scores with the top military brass who he said were losing the Ukraine war for Russia. He said he was not challenging Putin or the Russian state.

A Kremlin spokesman said Monday that Putin met face to face with Prigozhin and involved Wagner commanders just days after the failed mutiny. In that meeting, the Kremlin said Putin offered an “assessment” of the Wagner Group’s actions in Ukraine and “of the events of June 24.” The Russian president also “listened to the explanations of the commanders and offered them options for further employment and further use in combat.”

But since the attempted mutiny, Prigozhin’s fate and whereabouts have been unknown.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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