Diet Is Especially Critical for Wagner Boss, Biden Suggests

President Biden conceded in Helsinki on Thursday that he knows nothing about where Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is now, the state of his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or his chances of living a long life. But Biden knows a straight line when he hears one. Asked during a press conference whether the failed rebellion might prompt Putin to escalate the war in Ukraine, Biden said, "God only knows." He did offer advice to Prigozhin, the Hill reports, wherever he is. "If I were he, I'd be careful what I ate," the president said. "I'd keep my eye on my menu."

"But all kidding aside, who knows," Biden then said. "I don't know, I don't think any of us know for certain what the future of Prigozhin is in Russia." Biden may have been kidding on the square: Putin been suspected of poisoning political opponents in the past, per Politico. British officials have said Russian military intelligence poisoned Sergei Skripal, a former spy, and his daughter in 2018; Russia denied the accusation. Alexei Navalny accused Putin of ordering his poisoning, which nearly killed the dissident in 2020; Russia also denied that accusation. Germany is investigating the possible poisoning of two opponents of the Russian government in Berlin. (More President Biden stories.)