As details of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s ambitious coup attempt were emerging Wednesday, experts agreed his ill-fated march toward Moscow stands as the greatest challenge yet to almost a quarter century of President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed Western officials, reported Wednesday that Prigozhin had planned to seize high-ranking Russian military leaders, but that he was forced to accelerate his plans after the country’s domestic intelligence agency became aware of the plot. The “premature launch” of the insurrection may have led to its demise, the Journal said.
Mary Kate Schneider, director of global studies at Loyola University Maryland, told USA TODAY that even in failure Prigozhin’s coup attempt constitutes the single greatest challenge to Putin’s authority in his 23-year reign. Prigozhin revealed “fissures in Putin’s armor” that can be exploited by other challengers, she said. And Prigozhin’s warm reception during his brief march could encourage those dissenters.
“It doesn’t matter that Prigozhin and his soldiers did not reach Moscow, and in the long run it doesn’t even matter why he stopped short of Moscow,” Schneider said. “What matters is that Putin blinked.”
Zev Faintuch, senior intelligence analyst at Global Guardian − an international security firm with boots on the ground in Ukraine − said Putin’s “monopoly on violence in Russia is over.” Putin’s power, Faintuch said, was derived from his ability to control the “underbosses” of Russia.
“What is clear is that we are now witnessing the final act of Putin’s reign, and possibly even that of the modern Russian state,” Faintuch told USA TODAY. “We’ve all seen gangster movies when the don shows weakness, and we all know what happens next. That said, it is still far too soon to predict Putin’s imminent fall.”
Developments:
∙ Ukrainian forces advanced almost a mile in various sectors of the front line Tuesday, Ukrainian Eastern Command spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi said. Ukrainian authorities claim they have taken back more than half the land seized by Russia in the early months of the war.
∙ Lithuania will send 10 more armored vehicles to Ukraine, bringing the total to 72, Lithuania’s Defense Minister Avrydas Anusauskas announced.
4 dead, 47 injured after Russian missiles hit busy Ukrainian pizza restaurant: Live updates
WSJ: Prigozhin hoped to capture Russian military leaders
Prigozhin had intended to capture Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s general staff, during a visit to a southern region that borders Ukraine that the two were planning, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Western officials. But Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, found out about the plan two days before it was to be executed, the officials said. Gen. Viktor Zolotov, commander of the National Guard of Russia, also said authorities knew about Prigozhin’s intentions before he launched his attempt.
The Western sources told the Journal it appeared Prigozhin hoped to draw support from factions of the Russian military. The ease with which Wagner’s troops pushed forward in the early hours of the coup suggests that some regular forces commanders could have been part of the plot, according to Western intelligence.
Death toll reaches 10 in Russian missile attack on restaurant
The death toll rose to 10 Wednesday from a Russian missile attack that wounded at least 61 other people in a crowded restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, authorities said. The dead included 14-year-old sisters, the city council said on Telegram. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia “brutally attacked Kramatorsk with S-300 missiles.” The Soviet-made missiles were designed for anti-aircraft defense but have been repurposed by the Russian military to attack land targets in Ukraine.
The Kremlin denied striking civilian targets. “Strikes are only carried out on objects that are in one way or another linked to military infrastructure,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
