Vladimir Putin is ‘mortally wounded’ and his fight to stay in power has only just begun
Britain must prepare for the sudden collapse of Vladimir Putin’s regime, government officials warn, amid fears the “mortally wounded” despot could carry out a “Stalin-esque” purge to stay in power.
Western officials warned that Putin’s grip on Russia is crumbling as questions arose over his whereabouts following the attempted coup by Wagner’s mercenaries, led by his former ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
A senior source in the British government told The Times that Britain “has to prepare for a whole range of scenarios” and that “this could be the first chapter of something new”.
Meanwhile, Alicia Kearns, the chair of the select committee on foreign affairs, warned that Putin could launch a purge to survive as his propagandists furiously wonder why the march on Moscow was allowed to go as far as it did.
The senior Tory MP also suggested that Russian intelligence may have concealed the coup from Putin, as it emerged that both Britain and the US had intelligence that Prigozhin had been building up troops near the Russian-Ukrainian border over several days.
Western officials warned his grip on Russia is crumbling as questions arose over his whereabouts after the attempted coup
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the whirlwind 24-hour mutiny led by the head of a Russian renegade army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, showed “real cracks” in Putin’s grip on power
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the whirlwind 24-hour mutiny led by the head of a Russian renegade army, Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured), showed “real cracks” in Putin’s grip on power
The Russian president has not been seen since he delivered an emergency message begging Russians not to join Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup (pictured)
Blinded, the Russian army had to rush to defend Moscow while Prigozhin’s soldiers entered the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don unopposed and advanced to within 200 kilometers of the capital.
Yesterday, Mrs Kearns said the British government had known for several days.
US sources claimed that congressional leaders had also been briefed on Wagner’s build-up earlier last week, contradicting Prigozhin’s claim that his rebellion was in response to a Friday attack on his camps in Ukraine by the Russian army. army.
“I think our government had known for a few days that something was coming,” she said.
“That means Russian intelligence clearly should have had an idea. Did Russian intelligence not believe he was capable of marching on Moscow or were they lying to Putin because they were afraid of him?
On Saturday, Prigozhin, the ruthless head of the 25,000-strong group of mercenaries, was hailed as a hero after he sensationally abandoned his group’s march on Moscow at the 11th hour.
In a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to call off his advance in exchange for criminal charges against him and his followers being dropped, with the added incentive of paying a multi-million dollar exile payment .
PMC Wagner Group soldiers seen withdrawing from central Rostov-on-Don on Saturday night and returning to their bases
But there are signs that Putin’s struggle for survival is far from over. Ms Kearns said the gates were open for others to challenge the Russian leader: “This is certainly not over,” she said. “This is not just a power struggle between Putin and Prigozhin. It has raised questions about the country’s overall stability.
“No one believes that Prigozhin will go to Belarus and spend his life there peacefully. Putin… is mortally wounded, but I don’t think anyone can say that Putin is done. Nothing hates Putin more than a traitor.
Yevgeny Prigozhin was last seen being cheered by locals from Rostov-on-Don after his troops stormed the Russian military headquarters there
Prigozhin’s whereabouts were unknown last night, and there is no sign that he arrived safely in Belarus. A spokesman for Prigozhin told Russian broadcaster RTVI that he was “out of touch”.
It came when Mr Blinken said he didn’t believe ‘we’ve seen the last act’ in the Wagner-Putin uprising. “Sixteen months ago, Russian troops were at the doorstep of Kiev, in Ukraine, thinking they would take the city in days, thinking they would erase Ukraine from the map as an independent country,” he told CBS News.
He added: “Prigozhin himself, throughout this incident, has raised profound questions about the premises of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the first place, saying that Ukraine or NATO were not a threat to Russia, which is part of the narrative of Putin. And it was a direct challenge to Putin’s authority. So this raises profound questions, it shows real cracks.’
Western leaders have expressed concern over the unrest in Russia, which has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that the whirlwind 24-hour mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin showed “real cracks” in Putin’s grip on power.
Daniel Hoffman, the former chief of the CIA station in Moscow, suggested that a rogue Russian leader could steal a nuclear warhead if Putin’s grip on power falters.
Putin has not been seen since he gave a pre-recorded speech on Saturday in which he said he was “confident” that his troops would realize their plans regarding the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Two jets linked to the president left Moscow on Saturday but have since returned to the city, according to flightradar24 data. It is unclear whether he was on board.