What was short-lived Russian ‘coup’ all about?

by WorldTribune Staff, June 25, 2023

The so-called coup in Russia lasted for less than 24 hours.

The leader of the uprising, Evgeny Prigozhin, announced that his Wagner fighter columns that were reportedly descending on Moscow would turn around and go back to their bases.

Evgeny Prigozhin and Vladimir Putin

Was it a psychological operation? U.S. intelligence officials confirmed they did not know what was behind the apparent insurrection which regardless deflected attention from last week’s damning testimony by an IRS whistleblower and the relentless advances of communist China.

Prigozhin’s troops “would have faced massive casualties from Putin’s forces, who have absolute superiority in the air,” said John Ullyot, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and Trump-era National Security Council spokesman.

Before it was over, however, reports say that Putin’s air force suffered its worst day of losses since invading Ukraine and it was all at the hands of rebel Wagner fighters who reportedly hit his strike helicopters and a high-flying military plane suspected to be carrying a top general. “Russians killing Russians.”

Others have warned that Putin must replace his top two war commanders — Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Valery Gerasmivov — or face further uprisings.

Russian officials announced that Prigozhin would not be charged and was to be exiled in what many said amounts to a vacation in Belarus.

While major media cited any number of analysts as saying the uprising left Putin at his weakest position since taking power, an ex-CIA analyst said it was Putin who “orchestrated” the coup with Prigozhi in a “classic false flag” to try to make the West believe his army had weakened.

Rebekah Koffler told Fox News’ Eric Shawn on Saturday the coup was staged as a way for the Russian leader to boost his political power and he will eventually “gain momentum, mobilize additional personnel, and re-energize his offensive on Ukraine.”

Koffler added: “Putin wants us to believe that he’s weak, that there’s an ongoing threat of a military insurrection. So this is a pretext to declare martial law, which Putin has already done. He made an amendment today that anybody who is violating the martial law is going to be imprisoned for 30 days. Another very interesting and revealing point is that Putin just authorized that men with a criminal record can join the military.”

Koffler continued: “So this is a justification for extra mobilization of the Russian forces to send them to the meat grinder in Ukraine. It is also to demonstrate to (Joe) Biden that, no, Russia is not a threat. Russia is actually, you know, involved in its own domestic turmoil. But this is all a classic distraction and classic Putin. Prigozhin is not a stupid man. He’s a highly intelligent formerly convict. He turned his life around from a prisoner to a hot dog stands owner to the owner of a multi-million catering business that served the Kremlin, including Putin himself.”

So, was it a coup to overthrow Vladimir Putin?

Was it a Putin campaign ploy (he is up for re-election in March 2024)?

Were NATO and the CIA collaborating with the Wagner forces?

Or was it merely greed on the part of Prigozhin?

Whatever it was, it gave major U.S. media another excuse for ignoring the devastating whistleblower testimony in the Biden family finances scandal.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Wagner’s fighters will not be persecuted, taking into account their efforts on the frontlines of the Ukraine conflict. Peskov explained that Putin’s team “have always respected their exploits.”

In summary, the charges were dropped against Prigozhin, who will leave Russia for Belarus. Wagner fighters who didn’t take part in the uprising will sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. Wagner fighters who did take part will not be charged.

“Can this even be called ‘exile’?… given that Kremlin statements at this point aren’t even so much as using the word which has a clear punitive implication. The irony remains that one can get a much harsher punishment for mere Cannabis vape pens in the country,” Zero Hedge noted.

Speaking of being caught with cannabis in Russia, Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer who was released by the Biden administration in a prisoner swap for WNBA star Britney Griner, was recently spotted with Prigozhin, Newsweek reported.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said of Prigozin’s actions: “I thought that some people can be trusted. That they sincerely love their Motherland as real patriots to the marrow of their bones. But it turned out that for the sake of personal ambitions, profit and because of arrogance, people can not give a damn about affection and love for the Fatherland.”

Some major media outlets even had Putin fleeing Moscow on his plane which disappeared from radar. Peskov said Putin never fled the capital and “is working at the Kremlin.”

Former President Donald Trump said it was an “unthinkable opportunity” for China. which continues to be “the bigger threat,” and wants to purchase “large portions of largely unpopulated Russian land.”

“This is China’s heretofore unthinkable opportunity, much bigger than Taiwan, which to President Xi, can wait!” Trump wrote.

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