Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday mentioned the short-lived insurrection from Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin “reveals actual cracks” inside Russia because it wages its struggle on Ukraine.
“Prigozhin himself, on this whole incident, has raised profound questions in regards to the very premises for Russian aggression in opposition to Ukraine within the first place, saying that Ukraine or NATO didn’t pose a menace to Russia, which is a part of Putin’s narrative. And it was a direct problem to Putin’s authority. So this raises profound questions. It reveals actual cracks,” Blinken mentioned on CBS Information’s “Face the Nation,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin, who heads the non-public Russian army contractor group, referred to as on Friday for an armed rebellion to oust Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu and raised questions on Moscow’s justification for its ongoing struggle on its neighbor.
The Russian Nationwide Anti-Terrorism Committee opened a prison investigation into Prigozhin and Putin promised to place down the “armed mutiny.”
The Wager Group crossed from Ukraine into Russia, however Prigozhin, a day later, ordered his forces to cease their advance on Moscow. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko assisted in negotiating a settlement between Prigozhin and Russian management.
“Sixteen months in the past, Russian forces have been on the doorstep of Kyiv, in Ukraine, pondering they’d take town in a matter of days, pondering they’d erase Ukraine from the map as an unbiased nation. Now, over this weekend, they’ve needed to defend Moscow, Russia’s capital, in opposition to mercenaries of Putin’s personal making,” Blinken mentioned on CBS.
The secretary of State mentioned “we’re within the midst of a shifting image” and “we haven’t seen the final act,” stressing that he wouldn’t speculate about what occurs within the coming weeks and months, however mentioned “we do know that Putin has much more to reply for.”
Blinken additionally referred to as Prigozhin a “rising storm” inside Russia.
“Direct challenges to the management, to the army management, highly effective criticism of Russia’s conduct, of its aggression in opposition to Ukraine. And now questioning the very premises of the struggle, Prigozhin himself, saying that Ukraine and NATO didn’t pose a menace to Russia … These extra cracks within the Russian facade, and people cracks are already profound.”
