On Saturday, Putin gave an angry national address, calling Prigozhin’s rebellion treasonous and “a stab in the back of our country and our people.” But just a few hours later, he negotiated the settlement with Prigozhin. Putin’s actions showed the Russian people and the rest of the world that when confronted by a powerful adversary, he will blink. That is certainly the lesson now being absorbed by leaders in Ukraine and at NATO.
Putin’s only play to remain in power may be to have Prigozhin murdered once he settles into exile in Belarus. Prigozhin, meanwhile, may be condemned to await his assassin, even as he wonders what might have been.
Maybe this is what it says it is. Maybe this is some ruse to put tens of thousands of Wagner forces in Belarus, where they’re in a good position to assault Kyiv while Ukraine is focused on the counter offensive in Crimea.
My thought exactly as soon as I heard that monster is being “exiled” to Belarus.
If it was indeed a ruse, Putin wouldn’t handle it in such a terrible way that makes him look weak and incapable of defending his rule. He also wouldn’t sacrifice several helicopters with crew onboard just for show (why do that if you can make up any bs to show on tv). None of this was needed to send wagner to Belarus if that was the goal. You all are giving Putin way too much credit, and it’s exactly what he wants. He is not a “strong leader who has everything under control and a bunch of elaborate plans for any occasion”. He is weak and delusional, and has been for a long time. The king is naked, and it’s time for everyone to realize it.
he negotiated the settlement with Prigozhin
He didn’t even do that, he was calling all his friends (Tokayev, Erdogan etc) to do it for him, but only Lukashenko agreed, because he owes Putin for staying in power. Today Lukashenko said that “if Russia falls, we will all die under its ruins”, which makes it even more clear that this is a desperate alliance of two very weak rulers.
enticing…
We can only hope.