Russia, Ukrainian 007 challenge: Putin and Prigozhin? “We know where they are”

Russia is starting to worry about the drone attacks embedded in Moscow, about which Vladimir Putin declared that “the air defense system works, but there is still work to be done”. Meanwhile, explosions in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities continue without interruption, and against this backdrop of escalating war, Andriy Yusov’s words cause discussion. The Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman, interviewed by the Kyiv Post, revealed an interesting background. What? Ukrainian services know the whereabouts of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and “often monitor them in real time”. It cannot be ruled out that it could be part of a strategy to instill fear in the enemy, the fact is that Yusov wanted to clarify that “they are interested in punishing within the framework of international law and before the international court”.

In short, no do-it-yourself revenge, no excellent murder “because all war criminals” should be tried in the most appropriate places, given that “Ukraine is a civilized state”. A statement that suggests that Russia is not considered as such in those parts. Therefore, the number one goal for Ukraine and its military intelligence is “to get Putin to The Hague to be arrested and tried in court.” Then Yusov wanted to take a look at the future of the Kremlin, set in the post-Putin era: “What interests Prigozhin, the people who cooperate with him and some of the inhabitants of the Kremlin towers is the political future in post-Putin Russia. Being on top, surviving politically and literally in post-Putin Russia, maintaining opportunity and wealth, that’s what these people are interested in.”

The Ukrainian newspaper then focused on another possible next scenario. This is the hypothesis that in Moscow, after Putin, a huge civil war could break out between private militias and big companies, given the recent incursions of the Russian Volunteer Corps in the Belgorod region. This is the spokesperson’s thinking on the matter: “As far as the civil war is concerned, Russia is a complex country with many contradictions, inter-regional, inter-ethnic, social and political. There are many indigenous peoples, whose rights are ignored, and regional elites who would like another status for their people. But the main threat – explains Yusov – comes from the Putin regime, from those who surround and serve him. Today, the creation of private military companies, on the model of Wagner, is nothing more than the preparation of a war against everyone on Russian territory. When each Gazprom and Gazprombank has its own small military company to protect its assets, extract something from others or evacuate its boss. It is a source of military threat.” In any case, as anticipated, we are talking about the future. The present speaks of a war that is still far from over.