The Washington Post, citing conversations with unnamed high-ranking US officials, wrote that US intelligence had already learned in mid-June that Yevgeny Prigozhin was preparing an armed rebellion. According to the intelligence service, Putin was also informed about the threat and it was “definitely more than 24 hours ago”, according to the newspaper. It remains unclear why the Russian dictator did not take preventive measures.
Intelligence leaks to Washington have raised concerns about how the possible instability of power in the Kremlin could play a role in keeping Russia’s nuclear arsenal under control.
The newspaper reminds that tensions between Prigozhin and the army command have been going on for a long time. “Throughout the fighting for Bakhmut, Prigozhin complained that the Russian Defense Ministry was not supplying him with equipment and ammunition. He threatened to withdraw his forces altogether,” the journal writes, noting that senior Russian commanders privately worried about the Wagner Group’s owner’s tirades, which they considered both credible and undermining their authority.
As The Washington Post points out, the exact nature and timing of Prigozhin’s plans wasn’t clear until the mutiny began, but “there were enough signals to tell the leadership something was up,” said one US official who, like others spoke on condition of anonymity.
Members of the Wagner Group in Rostov-on-Don (Russia). The rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his formation continuesPAP/EPA/ARKADY BUDNITSKY
Why did Putin not prevent?
According to the American intelligence service, quoted by the newspaper, Putin was informed about the threat “definitely more than 24 hours” before the start of Prigozhin’s rebellion.
It remains unclear why Putin did not take preventive measures. In administration USA there is an opinion, says the daily, that Putin’s inaction indicates a lack of coordination in the Russian government and possibly internal faction rivalry. On the other hand, the weak resistance offered by the army to Prigozhin in his march on Moscow may, according to Western intelligence sources, indicate that he enjoys some support among the regular armed forces and Russian security services.
While the rebellion did not seem to have caused a deep rift between Putin’s inner circle and the military leadership, the rebellion was the most serious challenge for the Kremlin in years, notes the American daily. analysts. In his opinion, Putin will certainly now be perceived as weakened, and members of the Russian elite will question his leadership, asking why he did not stop it sooner, the paper concludes.
March of the Wagnerians on Moscow and retreat
On Friday, the owner of the mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported that troops of the regular Russian army had attacked the Wagner camp, resulting in numerous deaths. He announced that he intended to “restore justice” in the armed forces and called for no opposition to him. He then moved on to Moscow with several thousand mercenaries. President of Russia Vladimir Putin he called the Wagnerians traitors and ensured that the rebels would be held accountable to the law and the nation, and Russia will be defended.
On Saturday evening – unexpectedly – Prigozhin announced that he had issued an order to turn back from Moscow. At the same time, Alyaksandr Lukashenko’s office reported that the Belarusian dictator was the one who, with Putin’s consent, conducted Saturday’s negotiations with Prigozhin. The Kremlin announced that the Wagner Group mercenaries who moved towards Moscow – including their leader – would not be prosecuted, and Prigozhin himself would move to Belarus.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/ARKADY BUDNITSKY