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Putin rescinds his offer of Amnesty for Prigozhin [1]

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Date: 2023-06-26  

From the Daily Beast:

Prigozhin Just Got Double-Crossed by Duplicitous Putin On Saturday night, with his heavily armed mercenaries closing in on Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin abruptly announced that he was shutting down his insurrection after a negotiated settlement that would allow him to walk away peacefully. Just two days later, the Russian authorities leaked word that the agreement was already toast.

On Monday, a new audio recording of Prigozhin was released by his press service saying that Lukashenko had brokered a deal to keep his Wagner Group in business.

He made no reference to the supposed deal to keep himself or his comrades out of prison. A few hours earlier, signs first emerged that the deal may not have been struck in good faith. The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the criminal case against Prigozhin had not—in fact—been dropped. The official state news agency, TASS, soon confirmed that the investigation into the mutiny that humiliated President Vladimir Putin was ongoing. A Prosecutor General’s Office source was quoted as saying: “The criminal case against Prigozhin did not stop. The investigation continues.” Prigozhin could face 20 years behind bars. His location is currently unknown and he has not been seen in public since driving off the Russian military base in a civilian car.

The talking heads on Russian TV seemed to be horrified that Prigozhin wasn’t to be punished.

x In the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mini-mutiny, state TV propagandists had a mission: to praise Putin's wisdom for quickly ending the ordeal. Nonetheless, they couldn't hide their outrage that the Wagner boss didn't get "a bullet to the forehead."https://t.co/WUpvKsrgFC — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) June 25, 2023

No doubt Putin realized how weak this amnesty would make him appear, and he pulled the rug out from under Prigozhin to shore up his rapidly eroding authority.

How will the Wagner forces react? The are extremely loyal to Prigozhin. I doubt that they’ve disbanded yet. Will some of them face legal sanctions as well?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/26/2177761/-Putin-rescinds-his-offer-of-Amnesty-for-Prigozhin

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