The “mutiny” of the private military company Wagner did not cause the debacle of Russia heralded and hoped for by the political-media mainstream of the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered a choice to the soldiers of the Wagner PMC involved in failed armed rebellion. They can either sign a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry or other security agencies, return home or move to neighboring Belarus. “The overwhelming majority of the fighters and commanders of the Wagner group are also Russian patriots, devoted to their people and country. They proved this with their courage on the battlefield,” Putin noted. The organizers of the insurrection “kept them in the dark and tried using them against their brothers in arms, with whom they fought shoulder to shoulder for the sake of the country and its future,” he said. The Russian leader thanked the Wagner soldiers and commanders, who “stopped at the last line” and didn’t allow the “fratricidal bloodshed” to take place. He added that the promise he gave during negotiations to settle the crisis will be kept.
Vladimir Putin also addressed to units of the Defense Ministry, Russian Guard, Interior Ministry, Federal Security Service and Federal Protection Service. Russian military and its law enforcement agencies prevented a major internal armed conflict in the country, President Vladimir Putin has said, referring to the aborted rebellion by Wagner PMC. “In fact, you have stopped a civil war, acting precisely and cohesively,” he told a group of service members, who gathered at the Kremlin to receive state decorations for their endeavors. The response of the people, on whom Russia’s security depends, enabled all critical defenses and government systems to continue operating, the president said. President noted that no units had been pulled back from the frontline of the military operation in Ukraine.
However, this incident should not be underestimated: it is an expression of an internal debate between different positions regarding the conduct of the military operation with which Moscow is responding to the offensive launched, via Ukraine, by the US and NATO with the increasing support of the EU. The result is likely to be Moscow's decision to use more advanced military capabilities to repel the offensive. The results can already be seen. The New York Times writes: “Tanks and armored vehicles, supplied by the West to Ukraine, are being damaged and destroyed by Russian forces. Kiev formations have managed to capture some small villages, but Ukrainian losses are mounting. Russian troops have shown that they can fight defensively and have improved their tactics since the beginning of the war.”
In this situation, German Chancellor Scholz urges the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius to “focus on strengthening Ukraine's combat strength and its economic strength necessary to defend itself against Russian aggression.” At the same time, the plan for “Ukraine's recovery” is launched. To facilitate private investment, President Zelensky appointed the U.S. investment fund BlackRock, the world's largest, to manage the “Ukraine Development Fund”. The Fund collects billions of euros mainly from European governments, paid directly and indirectly by European citizens, which will be granted, at below-market interest rates, to multinational companies investing in Ukraine. What's more, a “war risk insurance” is established, again with European citizens' money, to compensate multinationals for any damage that their investments in Ukraine may suffer with the war.
Written by Manlio Dinucci
