Putin could launch ‘Stalin-style’ purge to cling onto power after coup attempt

Vladimir Putin slams ‘treason’ from Wagner mercenary group

Russian President Vladimir Putin may launch a “Stalin-style” purge in an attempt to cling to power, a British MP has warned.

Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, also suggested Russian intelligence may have kept information regarding the Wagner Group’s uprising from Putin, as it emerged both London and Washington had learned Yevgeny Prigozhin was building up his mercenary troops near the Russian borders last week.

She told the Daily Mail: “I think our Government knew for a few days that something was coming.

“That means Russian intelligence should clearly have had some idea. Did Russian intelligence not believe he was capable of marching on Moscow or did they lie to Putin because they were scared of him?”

The senior Tory MP added she doesn’t believe the deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko between Prigozhin and Putin will mark the end of the tensions between the former allies and within the Kremlin.

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She said: “[The uprising] has raised questions about the wholescale stability of the country.

“No one believes that Prigozhin is going to Belarus and live out his life quietly there.

“Putin… is mortally wounded but I don’t think anyone can say Putin is finished. There is nothing more that Putin hates than a traitor.”

After a long absence from the public eye, Putin issued on Monday afternoon his first statement since the mutiny by Wagner troops.

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In the video released by the Kremlin, the president addressed participants at an industrial forum called “Engineers of the future” – making no mention of the recent turmoil.

Putin praised companies for ensuring “the stable operation” of the country’s industry “in the face of severe external challenges”.

Prigozhin, on the other hand, has not been seen since Saturday evening, when he marched outside of the Russian city of Rostov alongside his troops.

He had previously told Wagner soldiers on their way to Moscow to stand down to avoid “bloodshed”.

The deal struck by Lukashenko saw Putin’s former ally agreeing to relocate to Belarus in what appears to be an exile.

Wagner Group troops, on the other hand, were told they would not face criminal charges and have since been invited to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence.

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