White House says 'no one should be surprised' if Prigozhin actually died in a plane crash in Russia

Russian media said Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed Wednesday.

All 10 people on the business jet died, but it's unclear if the Wagner Group leader was actually on board.

US officials said that if the reports of his death are confirmed, "no one should be surprised."

Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

US officials say "no one should be surprised" if Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin actually died in a plane crash on Wednesday. Though his fate remains uncertain, Russian state media reported that his name was on the passenger list for the jet that went down, killing everyone on board.

A private jet that was traveling between Moscow and St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening crashed in the Tver region, just outside of Moscow, state-run news agency TASS reported. All 10 people on board — including three pilots and seven passengers — are reported to have died. Although Prigozhin's name was included on the list of passengers, it's not immediately clear if the mercenary boss was actually on the aircraft.

"We have seen the reports. If confirmed, no one should be surprised," White House National Security Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement shared with Insider.

A US State Department spokesperson reiterated that point and added that "the disastrous war in Ukraine led to a private army marching on Moscow, and now — it would seem — to this."

The plane crash happened exactly two months after Prigozhin incited a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership, setting off a series of high-level purges and internal power shifts. The Wagner boss appeared at first to have escaped without significant punishment, but Western officials predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin might still seek revenge.