Putin orders security services to prepare for new mutiny after Prigozhin’s death: report By Snejana Farberov August 29, 2023 9:07am Updated
Paranoid Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his security services to prepare for the possibility of a new military uprising after the death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a suspicious plane crash, according to a report.
Russia’s shadowy government agencies loyal to Putin are working on a plan to thwart future mutinies similar to the short-lived insurrection led by Prigozhin in June, according to two sources close to the Kremlin and a government official speaking anonymously to the Moscow Times.
The Wagner Group’s tanks that came within 124 miles of Moscow — before Prigozhin agreed to stand down — made an “indelible impression” on Putin, the report said.
Prigozhin, a one-time Putin ally, not only defied Russia’s top military leaders but disobeyed a “personal order” from Putin, thus posing the most serious threat to his 23-year rule, four separate sources close to the Kremlin told the publication.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Omsk Region Acting Governor Vitaly Khotsenko during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Vladimir Putin is said to be preparing for a new military uprising in the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death. AP
As a result of the botched insurrection, the 62-year-old Prigozhin was reportedly labeled a threat to Putin’s regime.
There has been much speculation about what caused Prigozhin’s private jet with 10 people on board, among them the renegade Wagner Group boss — previously labeled a “traitor” by Putin — and his second-in-command, to fall out of the sky over the Tver region last week.
The country’s top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, officially confirmed Prigozhin’s death Sunday but did not say what might have caused the disaster.
The country’s top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, officially confirmed Prigozhin’s death Sunday but did not say what might have caused the disaster. AP
A preliminary US intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion brought down the aircraft.
The Kremlin was quick to shut down allegations that it had orchestrated Prigozhin’s assassination in retaliation for the June mutiny, dismissing them as an “absolute lie.”
But doubts remain, even within Russia.
A preliminary US intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion brought down the aircraft. AP
“Many members of Wagner believe that the government might be (behind Prigozhin’s death). And the government cannot ignore such risks,” said Oleg Ignatov, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Russia.
Just two days after the plane crash, Putin signed a decree requiring Wagner mercenaries and members of other paramilitary groups to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state, swearing to defend the “constitutional order.”
“Putin wants a tighter grip on Wagner, to make sure that he would not be faced with a repeat crisis in the future,” said Natia Seskuria, an expert with the London-based Royal United Services Institute.
