'I am not surprised.' Biden doesn't rule out Putin involvement in plane crash that killed Prigozhin

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden did not rule out Russian President Vladimir Putin's involvement in a plane crash on Wednesday that killed Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin, who launched a failed coup against Putin in June, was listed as a passenger on a business jet flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg that crashed Wednesday in Russia. He was one of 10 people − seven passengers and three crew members − aboard the jet, according to the Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia. None of them survived, according to officials cited by Russia’s state-run news agency Tass.

Biden, who is on vacation in Lake Tahoe with his family, said of the incident, "I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised.”

In response to a reporter who asked whether Putin was behind the plane crash, Biden said, “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin's not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer.

"I’ve been working out for the last hour and a half," Biden added after finishing a Pilates and spin workout with first lady Jill Biden and other members of his family.

The White House said prior to Biden's comments that it would not be surprised if Prigozhin was aboard the plane.

"We have seen the reports,'' National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. "If confirmed, no one should be surprised. The disastrous war in Ukraine led to a private army marching on Moscow, and now – it would seem – to this."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Was Putin involved in Russia plane crash? Biden doesn't rule it out