Is Putin in trouble?

[klondike]

This is being bigged up by the Express but could the Wagner mercenaries actually depose Putin. From stuff I read earlier the gripe was with the Russian AF command rather than the Supreme Leader

Russia LIVE: Desperate Russian troops try to fight off Wagner as they march on Moscow

Fears are growing of a coup in Russia as military vehicles are seen on the streets of Moscow after the Wagner mercenary group chief demanded an armed rebellion.

Russian forces and Wagner mercenaries are reportedly fighting one another on multiple fronts in what the British Ministry of Defence described as the "most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times".

Affiliates of Wagner decreed that the "civil war had officially begun" as the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin alleged that Russian soldiers were "using planes and helicopters to bomb columns where there are civilians" in their attempts to hit his men.

Three military helicopters were shot down in the Voronezh region on Saturday morning (June 24), while eyewitness filmed members of the Wagner forces near an airfield in Buturlinovka, a small town to the south of the city of Voronezh, having been "worked on by army aviation", according to local reports.

Prigozhin said his forces would march on Moscow to retrieve defence minister Sergeo Shoigu and chief of the Russian armed forces Valery Gerasimov, who he claims ordered strikes on his outfit in Ukraine, killing thousands of his men.

There is believed to be severe confusion among the Russian military ranks over "what to do with the PMCS", according to one Russian military blogger, as they are unclear whether to engage in fighting with their fellow nationals.

Story: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1783991/russia-live-moscow-alert-coup-putin-prigozhin

So who is going to be accidentally falling out of fifth floor windows?

[Scrumpy]

... and meanwhile many lives are lost..

[klondike]

That's been the case since February last year at least. I wonder if this is the start of things unravelling.

[GHF]

I hope this is the end of Putin but who is financing Wagner?

[JBR]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is going to lead to the sacking or 'disappearance' of Putin.

Not only Wagner, but I think likely also many of the Russian military, who he keeps sending to their deaths, are inevitably rebelling against what Putin is doing.

[klondike]

Even if Putin were unseated I don't think in means that the war would stop immediately. It takes a certain type of character to be ruthless enough to seize power and maybe whoever does might think they can do better than Putin at defeating Ukraine.

[morty]

I can't imagine Russia without Putin ...... he's invincible, immortal .... 

Having said that. Up until the Crimea and now this with Ukraine relations beyween the West and  Russia under Putin have been pretty stable.
It could have repercussions for Iran and Syria too.  

[klondike]

From what I've read Putin has some serious health issues and may not be long for this world anyway. The question is will he be having a 9mm inspired stroke or heart attack before a dizzy spell leads to him falling through a window or maybe just succumbing to some natural cause.

The next question then is will his successor be even worse.

[klondike]

Wagner Forces Reach Area Just South of Moscow, According to Local Governor

The Wagner paramilitary forces of Yevgeny Prigozhin have reportedly broken through to the Lipetsk Region, around 230 miles south of Moscow, amid concerns that the band of mercenaries are planning on staging a coup against Vladimir Putin's government.

According to the governor of the Lipetsk Oblast (region), Igor Artamonov, the rogue mercenary forces of Wagner Private Military Company are moving through the area, which is located just 370km (230 miles) south of the Russian capital.

"The situation remains under control," Artamonov said per Russian state media RT, adding that the Oblast's critical infrastructure remains intact.

Earlier in the day, British military intelligence suggested that the Wagner group was marching north through the Voronezh region "almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow".

Story: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/06/24/wagner-forces-reach-area-just-south-of-moscow-according-to-local-governor/

Well 230 miles south is hardly "just south" but with no army opposing them maybe it is. 


June 24, 2023, 05:50:52 PM
It seems things may be hotting up...

Wagner troops to reach Moscow in hours as chief warns 'half of Russian army' to join him

Vladimir Putin's grim regime may be being toppled as his own mercenaries threaten to march on the Kremlin.

Wagner mercenaries may be able to reach Moscow in a matter of hours, as Vladimir Putin's regime appears to be on the brink of implosion after a seismic turn of events in Russia. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the warlord in command of the Wagner Group, has taken the city of Rostov-on-Don and has passed through Voronezh, which is en route to Moscow. A video obtained by Express.co.uk shows lorries carrying Wagner tanks in the Lipetsk area, which is just north of Voronezh.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1784063/wagner-troops-moscow-hours

[klondike]

Has Putin fled? Reports claim plane linked to despot flew north 'then switched off transponder' after Wagner Group boasted: 'Soon we'll have a new president'

A presidential plane linked to Vladimir Putin flew north from Moscow towards Tver and switched off its transponder, according to multiple reports. Other business jets were seen making an exodus from the capital towards St Petersburg. Earlier there were reports from Ukrainian intelligence indicating Putin had left from Moscow by helicopter for his palace at Valdai, between Moscow and St Petersburg. It comes as a sinister message posted on the Wagner Telegram channel on Saturday said: 'Putin made the wrong choice. All the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president.'


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12229511/Soon-new-president-Prigozhins-Wagnear-group-says-Russian-leader-toppled.html

[JBR]

Yes, it appears that the Wagner group have made a great deal of progress in taking control, and if Putin really has run away I think that's to everyone's benefit.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that much of the Russian armed forces have decided to support the Wagner forces.  Certainly, after Putin ordering many of them to be imprisoned or even shot for disobeying his orders, what on earth would he expect when the chips are down?

[klondike]

It seems they have called off their invasion of Moscow now. All very odd. Can't help Putin's Reputation in Russia though.

[Ashy]

I must admit that when I hear the names of some of the Russian generals I switch off after the third or fourth syllable and so I don't know which side is which, however I don't think Mr Putin is quite as unpopular as all that, and you can expect Wagner group to be closed down.

[Raven]

I guess there will be heads rolling or generals vanishing, one upset Putin will want to punish those who are against him.

[Ashy]

Well in this case it is treason. Heads may well roll.