Russian President Vladimir Putin had a bit of a testy moment over the weekend.
The Wagner Group was leading an apparent rebellion against Putin and his military leaders.
The coup was eventually turned back, but it was not because of anything that Putin had done, raising a lot of questions about how vulnerable Putin and Russia are right now.
The Coup
The Wagner Group is a mercenary group headed by a top Putin ally that had previously worked in conjunction with the Russian military.
That loyalty was tested this week as reports broke of the group marching toward the Moscow to remove Putin from power.
The leader of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reversed course about a day after the coup had started.
He stated, “We will turn around our columns and leave in the opposite direction to the field camps, according to the plan.”
The insurrection was ended because Prigozhin did not want to shed the blood of his fellow Russians.
That became apparent when Putin vowed “decisive actions” against the Wagner group.
Prigozhin will not be prosecuted.
Instead, he was to leave Russia for Belarus under the agreement that was reached via another Putin ally with the group.
The uprising got started with Prigozhin accused Putin of ordering a strike against the Wagner forces (who have been fighting side-by-side with Russian forces in Ukraine).
According to Prigozhin, he had gotten within 200 kilometers of Moscow before the rebellion was ended.
Source: USA Today
