Beginning of the end of Putin?

[whell]

It looks like Putin is fleeing Moscow ahead of the advancing Wagner mercenary force. I hope this is the beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine, and the beginning of the end of Putin.

I haven't read that the Wagner bunch is meeting any resistance on the way to Moscow. That's encouraging too.

[barbara]

Looks like Putin will not be able to help Trump with the election this time around.

[Rajoo]

I have been reading multiple sources on this. Moscow is getting fortified and doubt if Wagner can waltz into Moscow, nor do they have any air support. At some point Putin will have to call for total annihilation of Wagner forces including Prigozhin.

But what if the Russian people want to topple Putin? This may be happening since Prigozhin and his forces are meeting very little resistance so far and his take over of the military garrison town of Rostov-on-Don is a glaring example. With the takeover of this town, Wagner will have ample supply of arms and ammunition which has been his gripe all along.

Regardless of who wins or loses, this internal strife helps Ukraine though there has been no reduction in Russian hostilities. Certainly beginning of the end of Russian occupied areas since the Ukraine allied militias will now have more freedom to operate helping Ukraine take back their territory.

[RickeyM]

With reports of Putin having fled Moscow what would the Soviet troops there be defending? If Russia's military were to learn they were sent into Ukraine on a lie would they still be loyal to Putin and want to fight there? The bigger question is if Prigozhin were to kick out the current military leadership would thus enabling him to have the resources he wants will he still want continue the invasion?

[Rajoo]

I truly believe that Prigozhin is done fighting Ulraine since the casualties his forces was took very high and so with Ukraine. All for Bakhmut, a town now in rubbles with no strategic importance. Even then he complained bitterly about Shoigu, has been going after him and other military leaders ever since and now he has escalated this to an armed insurrection against Russian armed forces.

But then all Russians lie like Trump and no one trusts anyone else. So for all we know this may lead to a coup of sorts. Doubt very much if Prigozhin will march towards his certain death going into Moscow, so I suspect something more is afoot. Putin leaving Moscow is still not confirmed and I will be surprised if he has since that is where he has maximum support and protection if he is threatened.

During the Ukraine war, I used to read a lot of Russian bloggers (English translation) though they were all pro Russia did give out a lot of strategic details. Now they have all been shut down it seems.

[Rajoo]

Belarusian president brokered deal for Wagner forces to turn around, state-owned news agency says

Reportedly Wagner forces have been turned around. What comes next? After this show down, doubt Prigozhin will ask his forces to fight the Ukrainians.

The agreement for Wagner Group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s forces to turn around was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin before negotiating with Prigozhin, according to Belarusian state-owned news agency Belta. With security guarantees for Wagner Group on the table, Prigozhin agreed to stop his forces’ progress toward Moscow.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...PB2CKDB4XESTYI

[Ike Bana]

Alexander Vindman is being interviewed right now by Nicole Wallace on MSNBC. I believe I just heard him say that with all the chaos, infighting, and instability in the Russian military...this incident today represents "the death throes of the Russian effort in Ukraine."

Pretty powerful comment...we shall see, but one can only hope.

Supposedly some kind of deal has been made by Prigozhin for immunity from reprisal. But I would guarantee that some time down the road, we will read about Prigozhin having been fed one of Putin's polonium-210 cocktails.

And Zelenskyy has spent the day in front of the cameras taunting Vladimir Putin, while Putin has been hiding out somewhere. Not a particularly effective display of Putin's power, authority, and fearlessness. Its been noted often today of Putin sitting at one end of a comical 25 foot long table from whoever he is meeting with, foreign leaders and even his own people. Putin is clinically paranoid and probably rightly so.

[Mark B]

This is all too obvious. I don't buy the story that there's been a falling out between Putin & Prigozhin.

[RickeyM]

Prigozhin said he was just after the military leadership. Russia's military leaders were the ones who said Prigozhin was staging a coup against Putin. To save their own hides they had to say that. So now what happens to that military leadership that Prigozhin says betrayed him?

[Rajoo]

More I read about what is happening, this entire episode either got out of hand or was staged. Makes absolutely no sense to me that Prigozhin with his Wagner forces went marching toward Moscow and encountered no resistance? And if Russian military mobilized their forces to stop the advance, where were they?

How and where did Prigozhin meet with Lukashenko? We know Prigozhin was in Rostov from a video of his exit, so a deal was made on the phone and on that basis, he withdraws his forces back to Rostovv and then also leave Rostov. All this in one day?

And how is he going to be safe in Belarus. Prigozhin looks and acts like a war lord and one expects his army to protect him,but now they are being disbanded and absorbed into the Russian military. So Prigozhin is being given a safe haven by Lukashenko, a human rattlesnake who is joined at the hip with Putin? And now owns nuclear toys.

Now if Donald Trump were to claim that he called Progozhin and asked him to stop the march, called Putin to ask him to pardon Prigozhin and then called his close friend Lukashenko to ask him to provide Prigozhin asulum, I will then believe this.