Scholz says Prigozhin's rebellion has weakened Putin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes last weekend's failed rebellion in Russia has weakened President Vladimir Putin, but the aftermath for Russia's invasion of Ukraine remains unclear.

Source: Scholz in an interview with ARD, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "This shows that there are cracks in autocratic structures and power structures; and that he is not sitting so firmly in the chair now. I believe that he is weakened," Scholz said.

Details: The chancellor said that the situation in Russia is tense and that Germany would proceed cautiously.

"Russia is a nuclear power. That's why we always have to watch carefully when dangerous situations arise – and this situation is dangerous," he said.

In this context, the chancellor added that Germany supports Ukraine so that it can defend itself, but noted that "the goal of our support for Ukraine is not to change the regime in Russia".

Scholz refused to comment on how long Putin would be able to stay in power after the Wagner Group rebellion.

"I don't want to get involved in any speculation connected with how long he will be in power. It could be long or it could be short, we don't know," he said.

Scholz added that a change of leadership in the Kremlin may not be the best option, "We don't know if someone better or worse will come after Putin".

Background: Last weekend, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group Private Military Company, launched and then called off a rebellion over criticism of the Russian military leadership.

According to media reports, US intelligence officers were able to gather an extremely detailed and accurate picture of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans for his rebellion, but the intelligence was shared only with selected allies.

US President Joe Biden believes that Vladimir Putin has "absolutely" become weaker after the attempted coup by the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC).

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