He’s not playing blind. He probably has some assurances behind him that he won’t get hurt, that he won’t be hunted down and killed. It’s not suicidal. He knows perfectly well what strengths and possibilities his until recently beloved patron Putin has – commented on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion Krystyna Kurczab-Redlich, a longtime correspondent of the Polish media in Russia, author of books about Russia.
– On Russian roads, Russian tanks are going against Russian citizens. Prigozhin’s soldiers, these are Russian citizens. This is an unprecedented situation – assessed Krystyna Kurczab-Redlich. Describing the position of Prigozhin himself, she stated that he “assembled a whole factory of trolls in St. Petersburg, which very strongly influenced the elections in the United States” and that “in many secret actions he was the right hand Vladimir Putin“.
He’s not playing blind. He probably has some assurances behind him that he won’t get hurt, that he won’t be hunted down and killed. It’s not suicidal. He knows perfectly well what strengths and possibilities his beloved patron Putin has until recently, she said. – Prigozhin does not work alone. (…) Perhaps he is in some kind of cooperation with the Ukrainian forces – she added.
Krystyna Kurczab-Redlich TVN24
For Vladimir Putin, according to Kurchab-Redlich, the current conflict between Prigozhin and the army and the Ministry of Defense “was good for him, because he took the odium of defeat off him”, “he thought he would be covered as a tsar – I’m not to blame – the boyars are always to blame “, and now Prigozhin “is undermining Putin’s decisions as commander-in-chief of the troops.”
Kurczab-Redlich: Russia stands on a narrow edge just before a big riot
So far, according to the TVN24 guest, “everything Prigozhin was saying was unacceptable in the Kremlin, but the Kremlin didn’t care” because “the possibility of a real rebellion was not allowed.” As the most important factor for the further fate of the situation, the expert pointed out “to what extent Russian troops stand behind Prigozhin.” “If Prigozhin joins the fight, he knows better than others that the military will support him,” she added.
– Russia stands on a narrow edge just before a big riot, she said, adding that “civil society would be needed for such a riot”, which, according to her, is “intimidated” in Russia and “we don’t know what is really going on in Russian society.”
Yevgeny PrigozhinReuters
The expert on Russia was also asked about the “direct cause” of the Wagnerian revolt. – Not so long ago, the order of the Ministry of National Defense came out that private armies should submit (to the Ministry of Defense – ed.) – she pointed out. – If steps are taken against the Minister of Defense (Sergey – ed.) Shoigu, it means that Putin will somehow want to come to an agreement and pacify Prigozhin’s rebellion – she said.
The Wagnerian revolt is underway
On Friday, the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced 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.
The governor of the Lipetsk region in central Russia, Igor Artamonov, announced on Saturday afternoon that columns of equipment of mercenaries from the Wagner Group are moving through this region. Earlier in the day, a Reuters source told Reuters that soldiers of the Wagner Group had taken control of military facilities in Voronezh and that a convoy of military vehicles of the aforementioned group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin headed towards Moscow.
Read more: The Wagnerians took over military facilities in Voronezh. The fuel depot soon caught fire
Vladimir Putin called the soldiers of the mercenary Wagner Group traitors and assured that the rebels would be held accountable to the law and the nation, and that Russia would be defended. Prigozhin declared on Saturday after Vladimir Putin’s speech that his fighters would not give up in the fight against the regular Russian army.
Main photo source: Reuters