Putin Plotting Retribution Against Wagner Mercenary Chief, Claims CIA Director

The CIA director suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking the optimal means to confront Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, whose rebellion a month ago revealed significant cracks in Putin’s power structure. The situation remains complex, with the Russian leader likely considering revenge, albeit not immediately.

epa10481471 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address before the Federal Assembly at the Gostiny Dvor conference center in Moscow, Russia, 21 February 2023. ‘The goal of the West is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, to end us once and for all. We will react accordingly, because we are talking about the existence of our country’, Putin said during his state of the nation address. About 1,200 people, including lawmakers of Russias two-chamber parliament, Government members, heads of the Constitutional and Supreme court, and regional governors, were invited to attend the event. EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT

by Oliver Reynolds

The CIA director suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking the optimal means to confront Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, whose rebellion a month ago revealed significant cracks in Putin’s power structure. The situation remains complex, with the Russian leader likely considering revenge, albeit not immediately.