106
Wagner boss met Vladimir Putin five days after mutiny, Kremlin says
(www.theguardian.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
106 points (100.0% liked)
World News
32326 readers
393 users here now
News from around the world!
Rules:
-
Please only post links to actual news sources, no tabloid sites, etc
-
No NSFW content
-
No hate speech, bigotry, propaganda, etc
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Because it’s likely theater …
But, for what goal, though? I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious. It made Putin look weak and it really seemed like he and this crony cabinet were on the run. It's not like Putin squashed down the rebellion in a show of force - instead, Wagner said "yeah, it's all good, imma turn around now and peace out to Belarus. Lates".
Did it really make him look weak, though? He's consolidated the military under the MoD umbrella, his comradery with Lukashenko likely improved, the West is admitting that Ukraine is running out of ammo (thus the cluster ammunition) and he (or rather Lukashenko) has a strong private army close to the Ukrainian border, about 90km from Kiev.
The only people claiming his weakness were some Western officials and the press and both haven't been particularly trustworthy nor well informed in their assessments of the situation thus far.
Edit: Not to forget that Prigozhin made it clear that his problems weren't with Putin but with MoD leadership/Shoigu.
That’s my guess - a coordinated effort to look weak to root out any issues with the clans that run each area. Loyalty check and you get to fuck with the West’s head a bit. If Putin wanted him dead he’d already be dead. There are useful idiots out there and Putin loves to look better than everyone else around him. Reminds me of a former US President …
I defer to you then. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Has he? He lost capable military leaders from Wagner, and those forced to fight alongside Russian troops fight now alongside troops which bombed them before. I hardly imagine there is much trust or comrades between Russian military and Wagner troops.
It strengthened Lukashenko.
... which has nothing to do with the attempted coup
It really depends if that army still fights for Putin. The smear-campaign against Prigozhin wouldn't make sense in this scenario.
Putin looks like messing about, trying to make the best of the situation, with no clear plan. He looks weak, and maybe worse, plan-less.
You have some valid points there. In the end I don't know more than you. :)
I suspect he may be grooming Pregozin to take over the presidency. Maybe Putin's health is failing. If Putin really orchestrated all this, it's one of the only scenarios that explains it well.
What if it's a way they think they can get away with nukes, without article 5? Nukes in Belarus...oh sowee Wagner got a hold of tactical nukes from Belarus those scoundrels and used them welp nothing we can do. But they rebelled so not Russia obviously!