America’s top diplomat says that the attempted coup in Russia over the weekend shows “cracks” in the “facade” of Vladimir Putin’s government.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the events as “extraordinary”, recalling that 16 months ago Putin appeared poised to seize Kyiv, but was now forced to defend Moscow from forces led by his former protege.
“I think we’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade,” Mr Blinken said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“It is too soon to tell exactly where they go and when they get there, but certainly we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead.”
Meanwhile, a global affairs analyst has said that the brief mutiny led by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin may have been an “orchestrated event.”
Michael Bociurkiw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, also told Sky News that the exile of Mr Prigozhin to Belarus may mask future “lethal” events.
He said: “We cannot dismiss the possibility that this was actually an orchestrated event by the Kremlin – perhaps to do some house cleaning of top officials, but also to test the loyalty of people in the military, of other officials.”
Mr Bociurkiw went on: “I cannot see Mr Prigozhin riding off into the sunset on a tractor in Belarus, or digging potatoes there, or heading off into the jungle in Africa somewhere.
“It all ended a little too fast and a little too tidy for my liking.”
He also warned that the Wagner leader remains extremely powerful.
“Mr Prigozhin commands a force that is bigger than the militaries of some medium-sized countries in Europe.
“And don’t forget he commands an incredible amount of resources in Africa – it’s said that in DRC alone their annual income from mining is about a billion dollars.
“The border with Belarus is very porous – it could still be used for another push against Ukraine, and with Mr Prigozhin there and his tactics, it’s pretty lethal.”