Nah. I don’t think he did. Not the crazy way he was going about it. Just a few hundred dudes rolling straight into the Kremlin - in a day or two - and toppling Putin? Eventually THAT was going to run into resistance. It was such a quick advance because all the troops were standing down and letting them go through. I don’t think anyone fired a shot during any of it? Maybe if he took his time and actually rallied soldiers to leave their posts. Instead soldiers weren’t marching with him, they just let him through. It was such an easy advance, it was probably a trap imo. My guess is he figured that out. Eventually his small convoy was going to be blown up. If he was to have a chance, he needed the army WITH him. Some blood needed to be spilled. He could have single handedly ended the Ukraine war if he rallied troops to leave Ukraine. But even with more sizeable and “regular military” forces at his back, in Russia it would have been more like civil war conditions once they ran into forces loyal to Putin.
You certainly may be right. And I suspect the entire incident may have been a fast moving situation that Mr. P may not have entirely grasped. Interestingly though I witnessed podcasts and reports just after the event and it seemed there was SIGNIFICANT supportfor Wagner by Russian groups and citizens during the journey north to Moscow.
Trump should take an Uber to Fulton tomorrow, now that we know what Putin does to planes carrying people he no longer values.
Some pro-Russian sources are calling this a FAFO moment for Prigozhin. There was outrage, in certain circles, based on the perception that he was leading an armed rebellion, against the Kremlin, and apparently let off with a vacation to Belarus. Still, I don’t think the Kremlin was necessarily behind this. Prigozhin made lots of enemies.
there was a major russian plane with remote command platform shot down by wagner along with some helicopters I suspect that created a fracture with his secret VP that was also the commander of the air force and Wagner was given a choice to stop or be destroyed. jsut speculation Wagner Group Shooting Down Russian Command Aircraft Could Help Ukraine (businessinsider.com) Under normal circumstances, the Wagner Group mercenaries who shot down a flying command post would have received medals. Instead, they may end up in jail — or worse. Wagner Group's abortive revolt last month didn't just end with its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, fleeing the country and its troops being absorbed into the Russian military. It also saw Russian forces fire on each other, destroying several helicopters and, most crucially, an irreplaceable Il-22M (codenamed "Coot-B" by NATO), a Cold War-era Il-18 transport modified for use as a command center and radio relay to control air and ground forces. "The loss of this aircraft is likely to have a negative impact on Russian air and land operations," the British Ministry of Defense said in an update published on June 29. Wagner Mercenaries Shot Down A Priceless Russian Command Plane (forbes.com) But blood did spill. During their 400-mile march toward Moscow, the Wagner fighters shot down six Russian aircraft: five helicopters and an Ilyushin Il-22M Coot aerial command post and radio-relay plane. Reportedly, 13 crew died in the six shoot-downs. That command-post and relay plane is a particularly painful loss for the Russian air force. The Russians have deployed the four-engine, propeller-driven Il-22Ms and similar planes to coordinate their air war over Ukraine. The aircraft are so valuable that Ukrainian forces have gone to extraordinary lengths to target them — with little success. The planes tend to stay inside Russian air space, after all. When Wagner shot down that Il-22M, it did Ukraine a huge favor. The Russian air force has just 30 Il-22Ms and variants.
That guy dying is a win for humanity. If his ghost returns to drags Putin down to hell with him, it's a double win for humanity.
It was named after the German Composer. And the story, and in particular, the dude that came up with the name, was a Nazi loving, murdering psychopath of the first order and was on the aircraft.
One of the rare times I agree with your take. A trap is the only plausible theory if this turns out to be real. It’s notable Biden administration isn’t spiking the football just yet. But assuming it’s real, the trap seems like the best theory.
