Current:Home > ScamsPrigozhin's rebellion undermined Putin's standing among Russian elite, officials say -Profound Wealth Insights
Prigozhin's rebellion undermined Putin's standing among Russian elite, officials say
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:49:47
Members of Russia's elite have questioned Russian president Vladimir Putin's judgment in the aftermath of the short-lived armed rebellion mounted last month by his former caterer and Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, senior Western officials said at an annual security conference this week.
"For a lot of Russians watching this, used to this image of Putin as the arbiter of order, the question was, 'Does the emperor have no clothes?' Or at least, 'Why is it taking so long for him to get dressed?'" CIA Director William Burns said Thursday. "And for the elite, I think what it resurrected was some deeper questions…about Putin's judgment, about his relative detachment from events and about his indecisiveness."
Burns and other top Western officials spoke at the annual Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. While acknowledging the fallout from the attempted mutiny was not yet fully known, several of the officials, citing Putin's known penchant for revenge, had macabre expectations for Prigozhin's fate.
"In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback. So I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution for this," Burns, a former ambassador to Russia, said Thursday. "If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn't fire my food taster," he said, echoing similar remarks made previously by President Biden.
"If I were Mr. Prigozhin, I would remain very concerned," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the conference on Friday. "NATO has an open-door policy; Russia has an open-windows policy, and he needs to be very focused on that."
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan later said the aftermath of the assault was still "unsettled and uncertain," but that Prigozhin's actions were an illustration of frustration with the course of the war in Ukraine.
"If Putin had been succeeding in Ukraine, you would not have seen Prigozhin running pell-mell down the track towards Moscow," Sullivan said.
Burns said Prigozhin had "moved around" between Belarus and Russia in the weeks following his 24-hour assault, during which he and a cohort of Wagner troops claimed to have seized military headquarters in Rostov before coming within 125 miles of Moscow.
After an apparent and still ambiguous deal brokered by Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko, Prigozhin announced he and his troops would turn back. Last week the Kremlin revealed that Putin later met with Prigozhin and Wagner commanders and exacted loyalty pledges from them.
"[W]hat we're seeing is the first cracks are appearing on the Russian side rather than on our side," British foreign minister James Cleverly told the conference on Wednesday. "And it doesn't matter how Putin tries to spin it: an attempted coup is never a good look."
Still, officials said Putin appears as yet unmoved toward the contemplation of any peace negotiations, even as Ukrainian forces push forward with a grinding counteroffensive.
"Unfortunately, I see zero evidence that Russia's interested" in entering into talks, Blinken said. "If there's a change in President Putin's mindset when it comes to this, maybe there'll be an opening."
"Right now, we don't see it," he said.
- In:
- yevgeny prigozhin
- Vladimir Putin
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Tom Sandoval Sues Ex Ariana Madix for Accessing NSFW Videos of Raquel Leviss
- Fireballers Mason Miller, Garrett Crochet face MLB trade rumors around first All-Star trip
- Video shows bear walk up to front door of Florida home: Watch
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Would putting a limit on extreme wealth solve power imbalances? | The Excerpt
- US agency says apps that let workers access paychecks before payday are providing loans
- Pedro Hill: What is cryptocurrency
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Prime Day Is Almost Over: You’re Running Out of Time To Get $167 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth for $52
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- ‘One screen, two movies': Conflicting conspiracy theories emerge from Trump shooting
- Former Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb moving into TV role with SEC Network
- Golf's final major is here! How to watch, stream 2024 British Open
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams dies at 84
- Book excerpt: Bear by Julia Phillips
- How to know if you were affected by the AT&T data breach and what to do next
Recommendation
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
Cavan Sullivan becomes youngest in US major sports to make pro debut
Summer 'snow' in Philadelphia breaks a confusing 154-year-old record
Claim to Fame Reveals Relatives of Two and a Half Men and Full House Stars
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
Joe Jonas Details Writing His “Most Personal” Music Nearly a Year After Sophie Turner Split
Appeals court affirms Mississippi’s ban on voting after some felonies, including timber theft
Pedro Hill: The relationship between the stock market and casinos