Has Putin inadvertently lit the fuse for civil war in Russia?

The fallout of the attempted 'coup' by Victor Prigozhin continues to cause dis-array amongst Putin's generals and his 'siloviki'.

As reported by Tim McNulty (left),

"Vladimir Putin's blundering efforts in Ukraine have forced the Kremlin to pull a large number of Russian troops away from other deployments with huge geo-strategic importance to Russia." (Express : 6 July 2023) (my emphasis)

McNulty goes on to report that,

"The UK Ministry of Defence has reported that Russia is moving units to the front-line in Ukraine from bases 7000km away where they serve as a strategic counterbalance to Chinese power." (ibid Tim McNulty) 

MSNBC : 8 July 2023

As also reported by Liam Doyle,

"Vladimir Putin's Russian government is on the brink, secret internal Russian analysis has suggested.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), headed by spymaster Major-General Kyrylo  Budanov (left), has access a Russian study conducted by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD).
...
The report, Mr Budanov said, has suggested the country is primed for a civil war which could tear the country apart." (Express : 5 July 2023) (my emphasis)

More sinister, as reported by Yousra Elbagir (right : Sky News reporter),

"Senior sources from [the Central African Republic's] ministry of defence and an official from the Russian embassy have revealed around 400 Wagner employees left the capital on two planes on Wednesday, confirming local reports of Wagner disengagement.
...
One ministry of defence official said the Wagner Group personnel who left refused to sign new contracts with Russia's ministry of defence." (Microsoft Start (Sky News report) : 7 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Wagner Troops in Central African Republic: 9 June 2023: YouTube 

Meanwhile, as reported by Anastasia Stognei (left),

"The rouble sank to its lowest level against the dollar since the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, as the repercussions of Wagner’s aborted insurrection heap further pressure on a currency already groaning under the weight of western sanctions." (Financial Times : 6 July 2023) (my emphasis)

 She goes on to further report that,

"[Natalia Lavrova, chief economist at BCS Global Markets] said that on the day of the mutiny, Russians withdrew some Rbs100bn, an amount of withdrawals comparable to when the Kremlin announced a mass mobilisation in September." (ibid Anastasia Stognei) 

Further causing Putin to furiously pace around in his bunker, Lorne Cook reports that,

" NATO leaders will agree next week to help modernize Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day, the organization’s top civilian official said Friday. But the war-torn country will not start membership talks soon.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (right) said that when U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet for a two-day summit in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, they also will agree to boost defense spending as alliance members pour weapons, ammunition and other support like uniforms and medical equipment into Ukraine." (Associated Press : 7 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

If Putin is furiously pacing around in his bunker because NATO alliance members continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, then he must be apoplectic with rage on learning that,

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.

Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine's entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end." (CTV News (Associated Press article) : 8 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

Not only are the walls of his bunker closing in on Putin, the nightmare of Prigozhin's troops currently in Africa now heading to join Prigozhin in Belarus, or even in Russia, must be causing him to face his imminent demise.

MSNBC : 7 July 2023

Has Putin inadvertently lit the fuse for civil war in Russia?

 

(to be continued)