by Phil Butler, New Eastern Outlook:
Who has the inside track on why the head of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, went turncoat the other day? Prigozhin, whose mouth has gotten more significant with each small victory of his skilled fighters, betrayed his fellow citizens, his president, and hundreds of thousands of Russian military personnel, laying it on the line in Ukraine. The recent past and the current news cycle of the days surrounding what Vladimir Putin called “an armed mutiny” give us clues as to Prigozhin’s motives.
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June 24th, 10:00 Moscow time, President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation to inform the people of what he termed “a knife in the back of our country and our people” by the head of the Wagner PMC organization, a man the West once called “Putin’s Chef,” Yevgeny Prigozhin. For those unfamiliar, Prigozhin decided to march his forces toward Moscow to topple the military leadership and the government. Fresh of a critical victory against Ukraine’s armed forces, this “would be” Putin ouster sought to ride a tide of popularity to the top. But was it a rebellion of his own making, or the carrying out of a plan from the outside? A criminal case was opened against him immediately, but a midnight deal brokered by Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko sent Wagner forces back to their camps. However, the damage is done.
Prigozhin will go into exile in Belarus in a deal approved by Putin. The effects of the betrayal have yet to be assessed, but the unprecedented nature of Priogozhin’s villainy suggests unseen factors. Now, how the geopolitical news cycle can reveal a lot. You can grasp why this mutiny occurred now by reading the timeline in the English version of The Economic Times. But this is not the only damning evidence that Prigozhin is something more than a well-placed buffoon of a Putin ally. After all, what or who would be more valuable to Washington and the CIA than a deep plant, a Russian Manchurian Candidate? I’ll elaborate further momentarily.
As to the news cycle and Prigozhin’s timing, at about the same time, Russia’s latest version of Rasputin reared his ugly bald head to take over the Russian Air Force headquarters in Rostov-on-Don. Subhrakant Panda, President, FICCI on PM Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US, was quoted saying:
“PM Modi’s landmark visit to the US has been very successful with several substantive outcomes relating to semiconductors defense acquisitions, access to critical technology, the Artemis Accord for space cooperation, and the resolution of six outstanding trade disputes. I’m confident that this is the start of a new chapter in the bilateral relationship, with mutual trust and convergence of views on strategic issues.”
He said the U.S., India, and the world will benefit from a future that is “AI America and India.” At about the exact moment in time, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it warned Western countries against using the Wagner mercenary group’s mutiny “to achieve their Russophobic goals.” Modi in the United States, America is staggering at the thought of the BRICS dumping the dollar, and all of a sudden, a critical Russian figure makes an insane move that can only harm his country. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary parade to Moscow never made it far, but it probably never was meant to. Not now, anyway. The mission, if we can call it that, was completed. Russia, geopolitically and internally, was set back a few steps just before the ultimate collapse of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Does anyone reading this smell that familiar rat smell? It’s no coincidence that U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was just in New Delhi leading up to the Modi visit to the White House. Just days before the Wagner PMC uprising, Sullivan was at a hush-hush peace summit in Denmark called by Zelensky. The writing was on the wall there, as the invitees included top security officials from the United States, the European Union, and other countries that have backed Ukraine since Russia launched its special military operation. Ukraine is losing and losing badly as its highly touted counter-offensive fizzles. Thousands more casualties are now clogging Ukraine hospitals as Zelensky throws the last of his reserves and mercenaries at impenetrable Russian defenses. The United States and its European allies are in dire need of leverage for the imminent peace deal. So, instead of forwarding several tens of billions more to Kyiv in a desperate effort, Washington got a better idea.
Buy a ruthless, big-mouth oligarch who has no loyalty whatsoever. I need the back-channel circuitry to determine how Sullivan (or George Soros) communicated the deal to Yevgeny Prigozhin. Still, his selling out is the only logical explanation for this mutiny. The Biden team needed some kind of win, and a revolt in Russia at the very moment India and the other BRICS are ready to wave goodbye to American hegemony is light years beyond coincidence. Now the mutineer goes to Minsk to collect some ungodly reward and to wait for his next opportunity. The Russians are a step backward from victory in establishing a multipolar world. At least, this is my view. Only the current play using Prigozhin is not the first time his name and one of his operations have caused Vladimir Putin and Russia big problems.
