President Biden on Wednesday said it’s “hard to tell” if Russian President Vladimir Putin has been weakened by a recent Wagner revolt, but asserted the Kremlin leader is a pariah on the global stage.

Mr. Biden weighed in on Mr. Putin days after the chief of the Wagner mercenary group turned against his Russian bosses in a weekend revolt — only to call off his troops and flee to Belarus in return for amnesty.

Mr. Biden said he’s not sure what the revolt means for Mr. Putin’s standing, at one point misstating the country that Russia invaded in February 2022.

“It’s hard to tell, but he is clearly losing the war in Iraq,” Mr. Biden said, presumably meaning Ukraine. “He’s losing the war at home and he has become a bit of a pariah around the world.”

Mr. Biden said he was briefed “hour by hour” on the Wagner revolt, which forced Mr. Putin to give a public address, days later, in which he decried the potential bloodshed and insisted his country is unified.

Mr. Biden said he remained in constant contact with allies to forestall any attempt by Mr. Putin to blame the revolt on the U.S. or other Western nations.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.