Revolt in Russia will not happen on its own due to lack of strong leader — Budanov
Russians are unprepared for a revolt despite dire conditions, as the country lacks a strong leader, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (HUR), said on national television.
“Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that they (the Russian
authorities — ed.) systematically adapt their society to these problems. And in
principle, the level of demand in their society (for protest actions — ed.) is
much lower than in ours. A revolt cannot happen by itself. What Prigozhin did
can only be done by a strong leader. And there is no such leader for now,”
Budanov noted.
Wagner Group After Prigozhin’s Death
On Aug. 23, 2023, an Embraer Legacy 600 plane crashed in
Russia’s Tver Oblast. Rosaviatsia confirmed that Wagner leader Yevgeny
Prigozhin and his deputy Dmitry Utkin were on board.
The crash occurred exactly two months after the failed
revolt attempt by Wagner fighters. According to Rosaviatsia, there were ten
people on board — seven passengers (Wagner militants, including Valerii
Chekalov, owner of several companies linked to Prigozhin) and three crew
members.
On Dec. 22, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that Prigozhin’s
assassination took two months of preparation and was approved by Russian
National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
After Prigozhin’s death, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin
ordered all so-called PMCs, including Wagner, to swear allegiance to Russia.
The WSJ reported that the Kremlin regime plans to replace
Wagner in Africa with other PMCs — Redut and Convoy. According to the
newspaper, the new structure responsible for Russia’s military operations on
the continent is headed by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the aggressor
country, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. Accompanying him to African countries is Russian
GRU Colonel General Andrei Averyanov, who, according to the WSJ, controls the
activities of the new structure.
On Jan. 15, it became known that Russia transferred the
remnants of Wagner Group to the Avdiivka direction in Donetsk Oblast. Vadym
Skibitskyi, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the
Ministry of Defense, stated that all Wagner units had been reformatted.
Militants who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense or Rosgvardiya of
the aggressor country serve in the army or other "private military
companies."
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
