This is just bizarre...what's the goal here? Putin already declared their acts as treason, how can he let this go unpunished? Is the Russian state really so weak that they have to forgive literal treason just to maintain power? What did Prigozhin gain from this? What about Kadyrov's movement towards Rostov, does he stand down as well? Was this all a weird performance?
Just...bizarre.
if we believe The Spectator: "there will be major changes in Russian Ministry of Defense leadership in exchange for Wagner halting its advance on Moscow". so yeah, they may have gotten veto power over this in exchange, which is a huge concession and would be an incredible indictment of how weak Russia is if true
This is it. Prigo worked with poutine to kick choigou and guerasimov
this one stays up. what an insane 24 to 48 hours, and what an incredible PR win for some of the worst mercenaries alive. it sure looks like they've seriously exposed weakness in the Russian government here, and i doubt this'll be the last we see of them in trying to make powerplays for dominance in Russian politics.
I don't think crossing the Rubicon, then turning around and cutting a deal is a good move for Prigozhin. Sure, he got what he wanted, but time will tell just how long he'll get to enjoy it. Putin is a guy who has brazenly (and openly) assassinated dissidents that that had fled abroad. I don't doubt that the military folded and Putin had to back down, but I still think the FSB is still aligned with Putin. As long as that's the case, I don't think Prigozhin will ever feel safe.
As long as he stays away from windows, he will be fine. /s
I agree with you, I don't think it is smart. Putin will not accept this deal, as he lost face in this conflict. Sure he will make the deal, but that doesn't mean he won't lock up Prigozhin or worse. Smartest move for Prigozhin is to continue.
Especially if as the news report, he will move to Belarus. Speaking of it, is he moving by himself with his entourage, or also "his" army? Because all the sudden having the Wagner moving men and material inside Belarus is "a ruse" in itself to create another front line for Ukraine... to say the least.
On TV, Russian specialists are saying that it's fake in the sense that prigo is working with poutine to give him an excuse to kick gerasimov and choigou.
Wagner and prigo are part of the GRU, highly controlled by poutine.
Did they say why they felt Putin needed an excuse to kick them?
Yes, they have bad strategies, and lost a lot of men.
Also this serve Poutine because more and more russian people are behind him now after his speech on tv.
What I mean is, did they say why they felt that Putin needed what looks like a coup attempt to remove them, instead of you know, just removing them.
@snakespm @Frederic fictionalized history but "TURN: Washington's Spies" had the plausible story that General Charles Lee was giving info to the British and Washington intentionally let Lee take lead into the Battle Monmouth as cover for removal rather than let the French, Dutch, and Spanish discover that there was a traitor at the top.
Similarly, King Edward 8th was pal'ing around with Nazis and was moved further and further away until the end war and barred from ever reentering UK.
Spotted the Canadian
Putin made a plan with Wagner for sure. To get rid of Shoigu etc.
This video here shows it perfectly, what Putins stance on him is currently. This Body language can't be misinterpreted.
How smart this play is yet to be seen but it seems questionable to turn back after seemingly going all in
did the helicopter crew that his thugs shot down have ketchup in their veins?
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