Vladimir Putin is facing a nightmare scenario following a warning that a “civil war in Russia is a real possibility”, with a host of disparaging factions ready to challenge the crisis-hit Russian president.
The warning comes after Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was confirmed dead after specialists conducted genetic analysis on the bodies found in the private jet that crashed down on Wednesday evening, Russian officials have claimed.
The Kremlin has been busy batting off speculation it ordered the plane crash, a claim the Russian Government has furiously dismissed as an “absolute lie”.
But in a horror warning for Putin, one expert has said the Wagner Group is just one of many factions Putin should be fearful about.
Political commentator Fraser Myers told GB News: “The break-up of Russia, civil war in Russia, is a very real possibility.
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“It’s not just that you have mercenaries like the Wagner Group. There are all kinds of private armies operating in Russia.
“I was even reading how the Defence Minister is starting his own army, and you think about how Putin has been using Chechen forces.
“There’s lots of warlords about. This is a very scary situation.”
This comes after jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny warned the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin could send Russia hurtling towards a civil war.
Soldiers from the mercenary group have threatened to exact revenge for his death – as well as that of second-in-command Dmitry Utkin and several other key lieutenants – by storming the Kremlin.
The Kremlin has strenuously denied any involvement in the plane crash, although the US Department of Defence said its preliminary assessment suggested the incident was caused intentionally by an explosion aboard the aircraft.
Some Wagner supporters have even suggested a bomb had been planted in a case of wine that was in the plane.
Navalny accused arch-nemesis Putin of ordering the alleged explosion in a message to his supporters.
The jailed opposition leader, who survived an assassination attempt in 2020, labelled the crash “a real terrorist act” and claimed it would result in making Prigozhin a martyr for his supporters.
“He added: “It is precisely from these ingredients that the dish called ‘civil war’ is made.”
The Wagner Group’s future remains unclear following the plane crash on Wednesday, but the Ministry of Defence claimed Prigozhin’s presumed death has left a “leadership vacuum”.
It added in an intelligence briefing: “The demise of Prigozhin almost certainly would have a deeply destabilising effect on the Wagner Group.
“His personal attributes of hyperactivity, exceptional audacity, a drive for results, and extreme brutality permeated Wagner and are unlikely to be matched by any successor.”
The Kremlin has quickly made the move to announce all paramilitary fighters must now swear an oath to the Russian flag.
A new decree, signed by Putin, states they will be required to pledge “loyalty to the Russian Federation… strictly follow their commanders’ and superiors’ orders, and conscientiously fulfil their obligations”.
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