STORY: “I think Putin emerges from this significantly weakened,” said Brian Taylor, professor of Russian studies at Syracuse University. “I think if you’re a member of the Russian elite are in fact a member of the Russian population, you’re going to look at this and think, ‘Wow, a private army just drove on Moscow for most of the day. No one stopped them and they’re allowed to leave and no real consequences.'”
Wagner’s lightning insurrection, which began on Friday (June 23), appeared to develop with little pushback from Russia’s regular armed forces. It raises questions about Putin’s hold on power in the nuclear-armed nation, even after the abrupt halt to Wagner’s advance, via a “de-escalation” deal brokered by the Belarusian president, according to the office of Alexander Lukashenko.
Analysts say Prigozhin’s actions and their outcome seemed likely to benefit Ukraine in the conflict.
“Ukraine is on the winning end of this equation,” said Alexander Vindman, a former U.S. National Security Council director. “Russia is in turmoil from the political leadership, and the military leadership at the senior echelons don’t know who to trust. I think they have this thorn in their side with thousands of paramilitary troops that you can’t just dismiss out of hand. They are not going to be put into the fight and trusted to do their jobs.”
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