Putin’s Power , Is Undermined by , Russian Mercenaries’ Revolt.
The revolt staged by the leader of the mercenary group Wagner represented the first notable challenge to Putin's power in two decades. .
While the Wagner troops turned back from Moscow over the weekend, .
... they easily took control of a major military base in the large city of Rostov-on-Don.
This whole episode has sowed really profound anxiety across Russia’s elites, Nigel Gould-Davies, Institute for Strategic Studies, via AP News.
[The events] severely shake confidence in Putin among those around him who matter, Nigel Gould-Davies, Institute for Strategic Studies, via AP News.
The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is a Russian oligarch and has been a close ally of Putin.
Hardliners in Russia's government pointed to the ease at which his troops marched on toward Moscow, and that he has been granted amnesty.
Prigozhin demonstrated that it’s possible to capture a city of a million people with impunity,
put demands to the
country’s leadership, , Viktor Alksnis, Hardline Critic of Putin, via AP News.
... refuse to obey its orders and mount military marches on Moscow while killing Russian soldiers on the way, Viktor Alksnis, Hardline Critic of Putin, via AP News.
Russia has moved a step
closer to its final and
irreparable collapse, Viktor Alksnis, Hardline Critic of Putin, via AP News.
Outside analysis has been not much better for Putin.
That the crisis occurred during Russia's war with Ukraine could spell disaster for Putin.
This is Russians killing
Russians on Russian territory while Russia is trying to contain a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Nigel Gould-Davies, Institute for Strategic Studies, via AP News.
This is not what Russia wants
in wartime, Nigel Gould-Davies, Institute for Strategic Studies, via AP News