On Saturday evening, the mercenaries of the Russian Wagner Group, which was heading towards Moscow, turned around. Norwegian experts have followed the dramatic development during the day. – We have witnessed a commander with political ambitions who took the chance to challenge the current army leadership in Moscow, says chief researcher at the Defense Research Institute, Sverre Diesen. – Everything indicates that Putin has been sufficiently frightened by this that he has seen it necessary to negotiate with a man he this morning called a traitor. DILEMMA: Sverre Diesen says Putin is faced with a difficult dilemma since he needs the Wagner group in the war. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB – Is it possible for Putin to trust Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin after this? – It is not. If Putin is not to come out of this as a very weakened autocrat, then he will have to let this have some consequence. He needs the soldiers in the Wagner group, but probably wants to remove Prigozhin. – Possible “false flag operation” Professor at the Department of Defense Studies, Katarzyna Zysk, says she is left with many unanswered questions after today’s drama. She emphasizes that there is much we still do not know for sure. – It is possible that Yevgeny Prigozhin has actually reached an agreement, been offered amnesty and got Putin to help change the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. Everyone saw how the Wagner boss could drive through large parts of Russia without being stopped. This and the fact that Putin allows himself to dictate who is allowed to manage the defence, naturally weakens Putin’s position. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: Professor Katarzyna Zysk, we say that we do not know for sure what happened when the Wagner group drove into Russia. Photo: Defense She says another theory is that it was all a so-called “false flag operation”. – Some have speculated whether this was some kind of way out for Putin, to be able to blame the defense leadership for the fact that the war in Ukraine is going badly. Prigozhin has constantly made strong accusations against the defense leadership and claimed that Putin receives wrong information on his table. In a way, the defense leadership has been sacrificed to explain why the war is going badly. – So this could have been a collaboration between Putin and the Wagner Group? – In any case, there may be indications that Putin is directly or indirectly involved. But this is just a theory. That helicopters were shot down and the Russians bombed a warehouse with fuel speaks against this theory. – Can strengthen Ukraine’s version of the war Zysk believes that Putin’s justification for the war may have been weakened after Saturday’s uprising. – Prigozhin has said that the war has nothing to do with liberation, but it is about the elites in the defense wanting access to resources. It weakens the entire narrative of Putin. I think Ukraine can also use that to gain increased support for its version. Professor at the Norwegian Armed Forces College, Tormod Heier, also believes that Putin’s power and control in Russia has weakened. Tormod Heier, professor at the Norwegian Defense College. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKAKN / news – It is very humiliating for a Russian president to compromise with a militia, and to a compromise that was negotiated by his little brother in Belarus. Whether doubt will spread within the Russian power apparatus remains to be seen, but the fighting morale of the Russian forces in the Donbas may have suffered, as may the military leadership.
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– Putin is weakened – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
