The military mutiny revived the West’s dream of defeating Russia

 

By Endre Simó (President of the Hungarian Community for Peace)

The Western powers are using the situation created as a result of the Wagner group’s military rebellion to exacerbate Russia’s internal and international problems.

Since Sunday, a number of ministerial meetings indicate that they are trying to undermine the position of the Moscow leadership by means inside and outside Russia, preventing President Putin from achieving his goal of neutralizing Ukraine and eliminating the American unipolar world order.

In addition to the military support provided to Ukraine and the increase in sanctions against Russia, internal subversion in Russia is playing a greater role in the Western toolbox.

Using organizational and propaganda tools, they are trying to turn the Russians’ love of peace against Putin’s leadership, and at the same time to strengthen the pacifist sentiments among the Russian soldiers, portraying the Wagner army’s mutiny as something that happened because they were tired of fighting.

In parallel with the negotiations between the American-Canadian and the American-British special services in this direction, the foreign ministers of the European Union are putting their heads together in Luxembourg to see what they can do to make the West’s dream come true, to strategically defeat Russia, taking advantage of – as they claim – the weakened power of Putin due to the rebellion.

The West may try to increase distrust of Putin’s leadership among Russians by confronting the Russian man with the Kremlin’s triple goal of de-Nazification, demilitarization and neutralization of Ukraine, indicating that none of them has been achieved. Consequently, they must find those responsible for the ineffectiveness, since the price of the prolonged warfare must be paid by the people, including the lives of their soldiers.

The US and its main allies see Putin’s compromise with Prigozhin and his 25,000 fighters as a sign of weakness. After all, the Russian president originally envisioned a showdown and prosecution before the law against the “traitors”, and then came to terms with them to avoid more serious bloodshed, as well as the development of a civil war situation, which he himself mentioned in his address to the nation on June 24.

After the military rebellion was disarmed by political means, the Kremlin announced that the rebellion does not change the goals of the special military operation in Ukraine in any way, but there can hardly be any doubt that in the future the Russian leadership will have to fight its battle on a wider and more complex front than before for the realization of his goals. With particular regard to the anti-Putin and pacifist attitude of a part of Russian society.

Against those who demand a heavy-handed approach to Ukraine and its Western supporters, the knowledge that the vast majority of Russians follow him can give Putin confidence. At least the majority of society has followed it so far.

June 26, 2023