According to the paper, it is wishful thinking that Putin's system is collapsing. In the end, neither Prigozhin's rebellion nor the subsequent temporary turmoil helped the Ukrainians.

Politico writes in a long article that what at first glance appears to be a serious internal strife in the Kremlin, actually does not give Ukrainians any reason for confidence. First of all, the paper mentions some examples of how the Russian leadership has acted against people who criticize the Kremlin. This includes, for example, the ultranationalist Igor Girkin, who told his 800,000 Telegram followers that "Russia will not survive another six years with such a talentless coward in power." He was also detained, even though Girkin took part in the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The paper also mentions that 13 high-ranking military officials were fired after Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion for a few days, but also mentions the case of Ivan Popov, who simply criticized the Russian war machine.

According to the author, Western and Ukrainian officials interpret all of this to mean that there is panic in the Kremlin, traitors are being hunted, and the power machine is collapsing.

The author doubts this, saying that despite the news of the purges

the prisons were not at all filled with ultranationalists or military officials. Instead, they put democratic opposition leaders and anti-war activists in prison."

According to the article, the military leaders removed during Prigozhin's rebellion will soon reappear, and the ultranationalists will most likely not be severely punished by the Russian leadership. Only really vehement opponents will be punished by the system in order to make an example of them.

The paper then also emphasizes that the Ukrainian counterattack is apparently progressing at a "disappointing" pace - in two months, the Ukrainians have made little progress in the south. The conclusion of the article is that in the end Prigozhin's rebellion and the temporary turmoil that followed did not help the Ukrainians at all.

Source: Mandarin

Cover photo: MTI/AP/Ria Novosti Russian news agency/Pavel Bednyakov