06-26-2023, 04:53 PM
I ain't a Putin apologist or shadowy leftist by any means...But what just happened with the Wagner militia is probably making a lot of people nervous around the globe.
There's a lot of nukes over there. Chaos wouldn't be a good thing.
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The leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful audio statement Monday, but uncertainty still swirled about his fate, as well as that of senior Russian military leaders, the impact on the war in Ukraine, and even the political future of President Vladimir Putin.
In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted ''to prevent the destruction of the Wagner private military company'' and in response to an attack on a Wagner camp that killed some 30 fighters.
In his statement, Prigozhin taunted Russia's military, calling his march a ''master class'' on how it should have carried out the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
He also mocked the Russian military for failing to protect the country, pointing out security breaches that allowed Wagner to march 780 kilometers (500 miles) without facing resistance and block all military units on its way.
Though the mutiny was brief, it was not bloodless. Russian media reported that several military helicopters and a communications plane were shot down by Wagner forces, killing at least 15. Prigozhin expressed regret for downing the aircraft but said they were bombing his convoys.Russia's Defense Ministry has denied attacking Wagner's camp, and the U.S. had intelligence that Prigozhin was building up his forces near the border with Russia for some time, suggesting the revolt was planned.
Russian media reported that a criminal case against Prigozhin hasn't been closed, despite earlier Kremlin statements, and some Russian lawmakers called for his head.
Andrei Gurulev, a retired general and current lawmaker who has rowed with the mercenary leader, said Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin deserve ''a bullet in the head.''
Prigozhin's statement appeared to confirm analysts' view that the revolt was a desperate move to save Wagner from being dismantled after an order that all private military companies sign contracts with the Defense Ministry by July 1.
Prigozhin said the majority of his fighters refused to come under the Defense Ministry's command, and the force planned to hand over the military equipment it was using in Ukraine on June 30, after pulling out of Ukraine and gathering in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Prigozhin claimed an attack that killed his fighters outraged the commanders and they decided to move sooner.
Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said on Twitter that Prigozhin's mutiny ''wasn't a bid for power or an attempt to overtake the Kremlin,'' but a desperate move amid his escalating rift with Russia's military leadership.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that ''the events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter.''
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the revolt showed that the war is ''cracking Russia's political system.''
''The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now," Borrell said. ''The monster is acting against his creator.''
There's a lot of nukes over there. Chaos wouldn't be a good thing.
===========================================
The leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful audio statement Monday, but uncertainty still swirled about his fate, as well as that of senior Russian military leaders, the impact on the war in Ukraine, and even the political future of President Vladimir Putin.
In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted ''to prevent the destruction of the Wagner private military company'' and in response to an attack on a Wagner camp that killed some 30 fighters.
In his statement, Prigozhin taunted Russia's military, calling his march a ''master class'' on how it should have carried out the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
He also mocked the Russian military for failing to protect the country, pointing out security breaches that allowed Wagner to march 780 kilometers (500 miles) without facing resistance and block all military units on its way.
Though the mutiny was brief, it was not bloodless. Russian media reported that several military helicopters and a communications plane were shot down by Wagner forces, killing at least 15. Prigozhin expressed regret for downing the aircraft but said they were bombing his convoys.Russia's Defense Ministry has denied attacking Wagner's camp, and the U.S. had intelligence that Prigozhin was building up his forces near the border with Russia for some time, suggesting the revolt was planned.
Russian media reported that a criminal case against Prigozhin hasn't been closed, despite earlier Kremlin statements, and some Russian lawmakers called for his head.
Andrei Gurulev, a retired general and current lawmaker who has rowed with the mercenary leader, said Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin deserve ''a bullet in the head.''
Prigozhin's statement appeared to confirm analysts' view that the revolt was a desperate move to save Wagner from being dismantled after an order that all private military companies sign contracts with the Defense Ministry by July 1.
Prigozhin said the majority of his fighters refused to come under the Defense Ministry's command, and the force planned to hand over the military equipment it was using in Ukraine on June 30, after pulling out of Ukraine and gathering in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Prigozhin claimed an attack that killed his fighters outraged the commanders and they decided to move sooner.
Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said on Twitter that Prigozhin's mutiny ''wasn't a bid for power or an attempt to overtake the Kremlin,'' but a desperate move amid his escalating rift with Russia's military leadership.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that ''the events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter.''
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the revolt showed that the war is ''cracking Russia's political system.''
''The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now," Borrell said. ''The monster is acting against his creator.''
Source: The Associated Press Associated Press JUNE 26, 2023 — 11:40AM
