Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Vladimir Putin’s response to the armed Wagner rebellion was “weak” and that the Russian President is losing control of his own people, CNN reported.
As per CNN, Putin faced the greatest threat to his authority in two decades last month when the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a short-lived uprising, claiming control of military facilities in two Russian cities and marching toward Moscow before he agreed to stand down.
Zelenskyy in an exclusive interview with CNN said: “We see Putin’s reaction. It’s weak.”
“Firstly, we see he doesn’t control everything. Wagner’s moving deep into Russia and taking certain regions shows how easy it is to do. Putin doesn’t control the situation in the regions,” he said.
“All that vertical of power he used to have is just crumbling down.”
Some Russians cheered on Wagner fighters as Prigozhin led the unprecedented challenge to Putin’s authority. Video geolocated and verified by CNN showed crowds cheering as the Wagner boss’ vehicle departed the southern city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24.
Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence reports showed the Kremlin was measuring support for Prigozhin, and he claimed that half of Russia supported the Wagner boss and the paramilitary group’s mutiny, as per CNN.