On June 24, the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war took a surprising turn as Russia’s Wagner Private Military Company, a paramilitary organisation, rebelled against the Russian establishment led by Vladimir Putin. The rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner, claimed control over Russia’s Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city near the Ukrainian border and then began a march towards Moscow. Mr. Prigozhin claimed it was a march for justice, alleging mistreatment by Russia's military establishment. The Wagner Group is a mercenary organisation that was involved in Russia’s annexation of Crimea and has operations in Africa and West Asia. The attempted coup, however, melted away after negotiations that involved Belarus.
In this episode we try to understand the import of these events, what it means to the Russia-Ukraine war and to Putin himself.