Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared “paralysed” on the day Wagner Group mercenaries carried out their armed mutiny in the country despite being warned a possible attack was in the works, according to a new Washington Post report citing Ukrainian and other European security officials.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troops stunned the world earlier this summer when they took control of the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, mounting one of the biggest challenges ever to Putin’s leadership.
His mercenaries later advanced toward Moscow before pulling back after the Kremlin struck a deal with Prigozhin, brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, under which Prigozhin would move to Belarus in exchange for no charges for him and his soldiers. The mission of the short-lived rebellion was to reportedly oust the country’s military leadership, which Prigozhin has condemned.
Intelligence assessment shared with the Post revealed the Russian president was given a heads-up by his security services that Prigozhin was planning an attack “at least two or three days” before it happened.
Russian officials stepped up security measures at key buildings, including the Kremlin, and gave out more weapons, but otherwise took no sweeping action to prepare for the possible uprising.
European security officials also told the newspaper there were no orders from Russia’s top command during the first hours of the rebellion, meaning that local and military security chiefs didn’t mount a strong resistance to Wagner forces.
“The authoritarian system is formed in such a way that without a very clear command from the leadership, people don’t do anything,” a senior Ukrainian security official said.
Putin’s spokesperson attacked the intelligence obtained by the Post, calling it “nonsense.”
Meanwhile, thousands of Wagner mercenaries as well as 700 vehicles and construction equipment have arrived in Belarus since the June uprising, The Associated Press reported, citing Belaruski Hajun, a military monitoring group.
A video published last week allegedly showed Prigozhin speaking to his troops in Belarus telling them they will be training there before going to Africa.
“What is going on the front line today is a shame in which we shouldn’t take part,” he reportedly said.
“We may return to the special military operation when we feel sure that we will not be forced to put shame on ourselves,” Prigozhin continued.
CIA chief William Burns has warned that Putin could still seek revenge on Prigozhin over the mutiny in the future.
“Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold,” Burns told the Aspen Security Forum last week. “In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution.”