Well, I think confusion and bewilderment and questioning over whether
this is it or what happens next,
because I don't think people are expecting to see the
last of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
But I mean, you drive through Moscow this morning and
I admit it's very early Sunday morning,
but it is is just as Moscow always is.
I think I've been thinking that,
you know, there are various reasons for how this could
all have been resolved so quickly in the way that
it was and one have been made.
One of them may be that Prigozhin recognised that he
just didn't have the support or the military forces,
the factions within the military or the security forces to
continue doing what he was doing and he would have
to capitulate.
But it all just seems to have been sort of
too swiftly resolved to be true.
I also don't necessarily believe that Lukashenko,
the president of Belarus, is an old pal of.
Precautions of 20 years as the Kremlin spokesman seemed to
suggest he was.
And I think we should also bear in mind that
Vladimir Putin essentially has has kind of softly annexed Belarus
now and you know,
indicated by the fact that nuclear weapons,
tactical nuclear weapons are being stationed there and Lukashenko is
essentially after under his control since the August 2020 disputed
elections.
Look Chenko recently has been.
Very sick. We now have a very powerful figure,
especially powerful militarily, moving into Belarus at a time when
people have been wondering whether the Kremlin is looking around
for people to succeed Lukashenko.
And I just wonder whether that has something to do
with this.
I I don't think we're going to see the last
of you have any plugin.
He's now in a very crucial space for Russia.
He can continue to do his mercenary activities in Africa
and wherever the Kremlin,
wherever else the Kremlin needs him to,
because he clearly is still useful.
For the Kremlin. But the reason I'm sort of hesitant
about all of that is also because.
Vladimir Putin did come out and make that very strong
speech about trade,
treason and punishments and how this was a stab in
the back of the Russian people earlier yesterday morning and
he still,
he just does look extremely weak given the fact that
he's basically given precaution,
a free pass or criminal charges will be dropped.
Wagner Crooked troops can just go back to their bases
and those who want to sign contracts can go under
the fold of the.
Russian military, which was the whole issue 2 weeks ago
when Prigozhin said he wasn't going to sign any of
the contracts for his men.
So there are still a lot of questions to be
asked about what on earth happened over the last 24
hours.
But I don't think it is very comfortable for Ukraine
that Prigozhin is now a powerful man in Belarus,
if Lukashenko allows him to be,
or let's put it this way,
if Putin allows him to be.