There is something going on in Russia as mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is claiming that his troops are on the march in Russia, while Putin has not been seen in public, and Russian leadership appears to be preparing for a military coup.
Prigozhin accused the Russian troops of attacking his troops as tensions between the mercenaries and the Putin regime have spilled out into the open. Prigozhin claimed that his troops are moving into the Russian city of Rostov, and Putin seems to be preparing for a military coup.
Video of NBC News’s Raf Sanchez:
NBC News’s Raf Sanchez reported, There is no firm evidence at this point, that a column of his troops is indeed advancing towards Rostov. But the Kremlin is not taking any chances. This is a government that appears to be preparing for a military coup.” pic.twitter.com/CC2lA5Xfdh
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) June 24, 2023
Sanchez said, “Prigozhin is a man with a history of exaggeration. There is no firm evidence at this point, that a column of his troops is indeed advancing towards Rostov. But the Kremlin is not taking any chances. This is a government that appears to be preparing for a military coup. Russian state media says the government has tightened security in Moscow. And in other cities. ”
The former CIA head for Russia operations said that we can’t rule out that Putin is in trouble.
Video:
Former CIA Chief of Russia Operations Steve Hall tells CNN, “I don’t think we can any longer rule out the possibility that Putin is in serious trouble.” pic.twitter.com/pVfjeu9Y7V
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) June 24, 2023
Hall said, “The fact that we’re seeing out of the Kremlin indicates that they at least believe that could happen. You’ve got armored personnel carriers moving through Moscow and the FSB saying detain Prigozhin. All those show that there’s great concern in Moscow that that could precisely be what’s going on. That said Putin still has a lot of leverage to pull to stop Prigozhin but I don’t think we can any longer rule out the possibility that Putin is in serious trouble.”
Meanwhile, Putin has publicly vanished.
Former Amb. Michael McFaul tweeted:
The absence in public of Putin so far in this crisis is striking.
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) June 24, 2023
President Biden has been briefed on what is happening inside Russia, as both the US and Ukraine are taking this seriously.
Russia is in crisis, and the crisis was caused by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Whether or not a full-blown coup develops is unknown, but what is known is that most Russians do not like or want this invasion of Ukraine to continue. The Russians are bogged down.
Putin’s authoritarian leadership has never been weaker, and at this moment, he is vulnerable.
No matter how this scenario plays out, Putin has already been greatly damaged.