Putin weakened

[PanamaSteve]

Putin weakened

The Wagner private military company loads a tank in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, yesterday before leaving an area near the headquarters of the Southern Military District. Photo: AP The stunning rebellion in Russia — which raised the threat of a civil war in a nuclear-armed state — ended in under 24 hours. But Russian President Vladimir Putin is weaker, potentially changing the course of his war in Ukraine. After a deal with the Kremlin as his mercenaries advanced on Moscow, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Wagner Group owner who led the aborted mutiny, will go into exile in neighboring Belarus, and won't face charges. Why it matters: Russians woke up to a changed country: Invading Ukraine has backfired on Putin. And Prigozhin punctured the 70-year-old leader's strongman swagger. The millionaire mercenary chief's "blistering criticism and brazen actions called into question Russia’s justifications for its war in Ukraine and the competency of its military leadership," as the N.Y. Times put it (subscription). Putin now looks like a lame duck, and Russians are starting to contemplate a post-Putin era, writes David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and a former Moscow correspondent. Some of the "deepest fissures and anxieties in the Russian leadership" have been exposed, Remnick adds. (Keep reading.) Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group, poses for a selfie with a civilian in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, yesterday. Photo: AP Catch me up: Prigozhin, 62, owns the once-Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, a private army of inmate recruits and other mercenaries that has fought some of the deadliest battles in Ukraine. (More on Prigozhin.) His forces advanced hundreds of miles (two-thirds of the way) toward Moscow yesterday, as Russia's military scrambled to defend the capital. Putin blinked, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius writes: "The speed with which Putin backed down suggests that his sense of vulnerability might be higher even than analysts believed. Putin might have saved his regime Saturday, but this day will be remembered as part of the unraveling of Russia as a great power — which will be Putin’s true legacy." Prigozhin, who posted audio and video updates during his revolt, has gone silent since the Kremlin announced the deal. This morning, there were still no reports of him arriving in Belarus, and his whereabouts were unknown. Wagner mercenaries with the sign "Brother" in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, late yesterday. Photo: Roman Romokhov/AFP via Getty Images What we're watching: Future challenges to Putin are now more likely. The bottom line: The sight of armed men "calling for the removal of Russia's military command shows how a war that was meant to achieve regime change in Ukraine could threaten the regime in Russia by harnessing deep anger" among Putin's people. (The Wall Street Journal)