Wagner Chief Death: Took Longer Than I Expected, Says Musk. Biden 'Not Surprised'

Prigozhin's name was on the passenger list of the aircraft, which crashed northwest of Moscow, according to Russian state media.

X owner Elon Musk and US President Joe Biden reacted to the news of Wagner chief's death in a plane crash. ( Image Source :Getty )

New Delhi: Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk on Thursday reacted to the news of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's death in a plane crash in Russia, saying that it took "longer" than he expected. "Slight chance this is a psy op," he added.

Prigozhin's name was on the passenger list of the aircraft, which crashed northwest of Moscow, according to Russian state media.

Musk's response came after a X user posted, "That didn't take too long."

Longer than I expected.

Slight chance this is a psy op.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2023

US President Joe Biden said he was "not surprised" at the news of Wagner chief's death. "I don't know for a fact what happened, but I'm not surprised."

"There's not much that happens in Russia that (President Vladimir) Putin is not behind," Biden told reporters.

"But I don't know enough to know the answer" of what may have happened to the powerful former Putin henchman, he said.

Notably, Prigozhin had raised a flag of rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin and ventured to Moscow with his band of armed loyalists a few months back. However, his attempted rebellion was cut short after a deal was reached with the Kremlin. 

As part of the deal that the Kremlin brokered with the mercenary and private military operator, Prigozhin was to dial down his rhetoric against President Putin and go into exile in Belarus.

Last month in Helsinki, Biden jokingly warned that Prigozhin, whose elite Wagner force has played an important role in the war on Ukraine, should watch his step after his abortive rebellion.

"If I were he, I'd be careful what I ate. I'd keep my eye on my menu," Biden said.

Prigozhin, a 61-year-old former convict, had denied having any connections with the military group Wagner until September last year when he announced he was “proud” to be its founder, as per a report by Independent.

Prigozhin was popularly known as “Putin’s chef” as his catering business earlier hosted dinners for the Russian president and fed the Kremlin’s armed forces.

According to reports, the Wagner chief rose to be the top military operator in the world due to his alleged closeness to President Vladimir Putin and his company was involved in the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.