If the attempted coup in Russia by a private militia raised hopes of an end to the vexed war in Ukraine, it did not take much time for these hopes to be dashed. There seems to be no end in sight to the sufferings of the Ukrainian people as war clouds continue to hover over the eastern European nation invaded by Russia nearly 16 months ago. The armed rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary group Wagner and once a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, fizzled out hours after the militia claimed to have taken control of Russian city Rostov-on-Don, which houses the country’s military headquarters, and vowed to march towards Moscow in what it claimed was a battle for justice.
The unprecedented mutiny by Wagner, comprising over 25,000 soldiers loyal to Prigozhin, rattled the Kremlin and made Putin look vulnerable. But the uprising unraveled within 24 hours, following a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. As a result, the rebel leader halted the march to Moscow and ordered the mercenaries to retreat to their field camps in Ukraine “to avoid shedding Russian blood.” As per the negotiated deal, Russia dropped charges against him, provided security guarantees for Wagner troops, and allowed him to leave for Belarus. The brief revolt has turned out to be a public relations disaster for the Kremlin, threatening both national stability and the war effort. It has exposed the failures of the Russian military in the ongoing war. This also shows how a rogue person whom the state considers an asset can turn against the master anytime. Putin must have learnt it the hard way.