The Russian president visited the south of the country for the first time and talked to citizens after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion. In the West, they believe that Putin’s power has weakened
Vladimir Putin had no doubts about the support of the Russians during the military uprising. The head of state stated this in Derbent during his first regional trip after Prigozhin’s “march on Moscow”, which caused the most serious political crisis in the country since he came to power more than 20 years ago.
In Dagestan, the president held a meeting on the development of tourism, and even went out to the citizens who had gathered in one of the squares.
Despite signals that the authorities are in complete control of the situation in the country, many in the West have concluded that the failed performance of the “Wagnerites” weakened the head of the Kremlin.
According to Olaf Scholz, the events of 24 June showed that “autocratic structures, power structures cracked“.
The Wall Street Journal claimsthat Yevgeny Prigozhin planned to kidnap the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff during their visit to Rostov-on-Don. The founder of the PMC had to start the rebellion earlier than planned, because the FSB found out about his plan.
Sergei Shoigu has already appeared in public this week, while Prigozhin’s other long-time opponent, Valery Gerasimov, who has not been mentioned in any Defense Ministry press release since June 9, has not appeared in public space.
The Moscow Times, citing sources, reports the likely arrest of Sergei Surovikin. According to the New York Times, citing US officials briefed on the matter by intelligence agencies, one of Russia’s most prominent generals was aware of Prigozhin’s plan.
Russia’s neighbors remain concerned about the likely presence of “Wagnerites” in Belarus. The Lithuanian State Security Department (VSD) says that Vilnius is assessing the risks involved.
According to Lithuanian intelligence, among the documents found during searches at the headquarters of the Wagner group in St. Petersburg, there were evidence of an information attack on the government of Lithuania, which was being prepared by Prigozhin in 2020.
2023-06-29 06:01:33
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