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[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

From the Guardian:

36m ago
23.53 BST
Former US intelligence officials have said that Wagner’s march on Moscow has revived fears about what would happen to Russia’s nuclear stockpile in the event of domestic upheaval, Reuters reports.

Despite an agreement on Saturday by Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to call off the insurrection, the episode signalled that President Putin’s grasp on power could be waning.

Images of tanks on Russian streets brought to mind the failed 1991 coup by communist hardliners that raised concerns about the security of the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

“The IC [intelligence community] will be super-focused on the [Russian] nuclear stockpile,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who oversaw the agency’s clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia.

“You want to know who has control of the nuclear weapons because you’re worried that terrorists or bad guys like [Chechen leader Ramzan] Kadyrov might come after them for the leverage they can get,” said Daniel Hoffman, a former senior CIA officer who served as the agency’s Moscow station chief.

US officials said they did not see an immediate threat to the security of Russia’s strategic and tactical weapons.

“We have not seen any changes in the disposition of Russian nuclear forces,” said a National Security Council spokesperson in response to questions from Reuters. “Russia has a special responsibility to maintain command, control and custody of its nuclear forces and to ensure that no actions are taken that imperil strategic stability.”

Updated at 00.02 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... op-of-blog

[mmmm8]

And the speculation begins


Seth Abramson
@sethabramson@bird.makeup
I’m not saying this happened—at all; there’s no evidence of it—but if you told me Putin had secretly offered Prigozhin the presidency of Belarus (in place of Lukashenko, who Putin can kill at any time) *that* I could buy as sufficient incentive for Wagner instantly standing down.

(After all, Prigozhin already has his army, he just needs a country to rule with it.)

That sounds wildly absurd to me. Lukashenko brokered the deal. Prigozhin has never lived in Belarus - it would cause huge unrest there. Of course, one of the posts above suggests anything absurd might be true. But it really seems Lukashenko is getting something out of this too.

I would go with Occam's Razor - they had a literal gun to his head.

[Suliso]

In politics and war most often the simplest explanation is the right one. Also we should not discount the possibility that one or more of participants are simply stupid.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[Suliso]

He and possibly several others have been arrested. Several sources report now.

There is no striking the king half heartedly. You either strike hard or not at all. Those guys should have known it.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

He and possibly several others have been arrested. Several sources report now.

There is no striking the king half heartedly. You either strike hard or not at all. Those guys should have known it.

When you go after the king you can't miss.

[ponchi101]

"You don't shoot the devil in the back"
"Why not?"
"What if you miss?"

Kaiser Souze.

[mmmm8]

Looks like Surovikin may have been outed by US media who got the info from US intelligence. It sounds to me like a purposeful leak by US intelligence to see what Putin will do.

[ti-amie]

Looks like Surovikin may have been outed by US media who got the info from US intelligence. It sounds to me like a purposeful leak by US intelligence to see what Putin will do.

[ponchi101]

All I will say is that if US Intelligence needed to see what Putin would do, they really know nothing about the man.
His solution for everything involves defenestration, polonium 204 or cyanide laced corn-flakes. That's how he solves problems.

[dryrunguy]

This morning, I caught a brief glimpse of the crest of the mountain on the other side of the valley where I live. Since about Noon today, I haven't been able to see it all because of the smoke. And what's happening here is NOTHING compared to what's happening in many parts of Canada and the U.S.

Someone in a meeting today stated the smoke has been reported in Portugal.