Posted on 06/24/2023 8:53:39 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
If this is the end of the coup attempt, talk about anti-climactic. Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Wagner Group, a Kremlin-backed mercenary army, seemed poised to create a political crisis when his troops began to march north toward Moscow from southern Russia. They had reportedly seized some cities in the Lipetsk province. Putin reportedly fled Moscow earlier this morning while security forces were on high alert. Most of Russia’s forces are bogged down in Ukraine, which made this situation more perilous for Putin and his allies.
Prigozhin has close ties to the Russian president, nicknamed “Putin’s chef,” due to his catering businesses’ relationship with the Kremlin. He also operates multiple technology companies which have been accused of peddling propaganda. He landed in treasonous waters when he accused the military leadership of being “evil,” accusing them of sparking a war in Ukraine based on lies. He described his uprising as grounded in justice and righteousness and called for rebellion against the ruling order. Of course, an investigation into him was opened by Russian authorities shortly after his screed.
Wagner’s forces reportedly were around 124 miles (200 kilometers) from Moscow before being ordered to withdraw. This order was given probably due to the lack of manpower; this wasn’t an army marching on the city in the likes of Napoleon or Nazi Germany. It was perhaps no more than 5,000 men, which is inadequate to lay siege to a metropolis. Now, it appears to be over with, with Prigozhin agreeing to relocate to Belarus and face no charges over this incident (via Associated Press):
Prigozhin says it's over:
"They were going to dismantle PMC Wagner. We came out on 23 June to the March of Justice. In a day, we walked to nearly 200km away from Moscow. In this time, we did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters. Now, the moment has come when blood…— Dmitri (@wartranslated) June 24, 2023
Anyone else think this is crazy weird? Coup is over? What now?— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) June 24, 2023
The rebellious Russian mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow before abruptly reversing course will move to neighboring Belarus and not face prosecution, the Kremlin said Saturday, as part of a deal to defuse a crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.
The charges against Yevgeny Prigozhin for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped and the troops who joined him also will not be prosecuted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, and fighters from his Wagner Group who did not take part in the uprising will be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry.
Putin had vowed to punish those behind the armed uprising led by his onetime protege, whose forces seized a key military facility in southern Russia before advancing on the capital. In a televised speech to the nation, Putin called the rebellion a “betrayal” and “treason.”
In allowing Prigozhin and his forces to go free, Peskov said Putin’s “highest goal” was “to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results.”
Moscow had braced for the arrival of the Wagner forces by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge. Red Square was shut down, and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads.
But after the deal was struck, Prigozhin announced that while his men were just 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow, he had decided to retreat to avoid “shedding Russian blood.” His troops were ordered back to their field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian regular soldiers.
Prigozhin has demanded the ouster of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, long the target of his withering criticism for his conduct of the war in Ukraine. On Friday, he accused forces under Shoigu’s command of attacking Wagner camps and killing “a huge number of our comrades.” The Defense Ministry has denied this.
[…]
Early Saturday, Prigozhin’s private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow, which runs Russian operations in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.
So, is that it? Does this mean the coup attempt is over? It would appear so, and while there are no reports regarding Prigozhin getting his grievances addressed, I’m sure he’s happy he’ll be able to live in exile. However, Belarus is essentially Russia, and it wouldn’t be shocking if something happened to this guy later.
There will be speculation about whether this was a legitimate attempt or staged. Who knows? Both sides have incentives to lie; even the Ukrainians have a vested interest in ginning up the propaganda on this story for obvious reasons.
We’ll keep you updated, but if you expected to see Putin ousted, though I’m not sure that was ever going to happen, no dice this time.
It was nothing more then a protest. It’s just the western media that made it out to be a coup.
Serious question, if the Russian military is mostly conscripted and they don’t pay well what does Wagner make vs the worldwide going rate for mercenaries?
I mean I had a contact pulling in six figures doing security work in Iraq and Afghanistan and there’s no way the Russians are paying tens of thousands Wagner members that rate.
Maybe someone will answer your “salary” question, but consider this — if your’re a hardened criminal facing a long jail sentence or even death, and you were offered to join Wagner in exchange for freedom after a stint in Ukraine, would you take the offer?
Lucky Belarus - now Wagner is their problem.
There are hundreds and hundreds of scenarios flying around the internet.
There are specific official statements by the Kremlin spox:
1) Putin worked at the Kremlin all day, and not much of that was talking to Lukashenko.
2) The Wagner people who want to serve Russia will be brought into the MoD via the same contracts conscripts are offered at the end of their terms.
3) Prigo will exile to Belarus. There is an odd lack of mention of his family. Or bodyguards.
That is pretty much all from the Kremlin. Prigo had a statement noting no blood had been spilled during the action, which pretty much erases talk of helicopters being shot down.
In a very general way, if he was being paid by MI6, they did not get much of a return on their investment.
there’s the question of how long he will live, in exile or otherwise, after crossing Putin. When you aim for the king, you’d better not miss, and he missed.
“”It’s just the western media that made it out to be a coup.””
I do not believe most of what is reported about Ukraine, other than the massive Obama / Biden Crime Regime funneling billions to themselves and others.
“However, Belarus is essentially Russia, and it wouldn’t be shocking if something happened to this guy later.”
Yep, my thoughts too. It’s up to Putin to decide how safe Prigozhin will be in Belarus, so it would be smart for Prigozhin to behave nicely now towards Putin...
Another expert rambles on and says nothing. Must get paid by the word.
“… This order was given probably due to the lack of manpower; this wasn’t an army marching on the city in the likes of Napoleon or Nazi Germany. It was perhaps no more than 5,000 men, which is inadequate to lay siege to a metropolis.…”
**********************************************************************
And those men would have to be continually RESUPPLIED with food, gasoline and sundries. One significant battle and their ammunition would have been expended with no logistics trains available to provide more. THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED OR CAPTURED IN SHORT ORDER… and their experienced officers knew that.. The “party” was therefore ended before they encountered that certain eventuality.
It is not over
Generally, before the war....Wagner people were making around 80,000 to 250,000 Rubles a month($956 to $3,000).
I should note, Wagner contractors aren’t paid to do technical work...it’s pure up-and-up mercenary work.
I also should note that 250,000 Rubles was a fair sum of money (at least before the war started).
Five hundred spins, five hundred ways to say “oops” in five languages.
Wagner pulled a fast one on Biden. He took the money and ran.
A protest?
Lol.
Maybe Putin wanted Wagner broken up with some of them to be contracted into the regular Russian army. But first he wanted to weed out any who might be disloyal - that would be the 5000 who marched on Moscow.
Imagine the Wagner group just driving down the highway to Moscow when the Russians open up with their aircraft strafing and bombing them.
There was no coup. Just propaganda. If Prigozhin really tried a coup he is a dead man. It would just be how he would be killed but I expect slow enough that he would regret crossing Putin.
No one is debating the helicopters and a fixed wing plane being shot down, or that 12 crew were killed. Prigozhin's statement specifically said "In this time, we did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters." He's not saying no one was killed, but that no Wagner troops were killed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.