Veteran’s Corner

Tom Krabbenhoft

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. We are SO lucky to have everything we have here. Remember someone somewhere is struggling for their own independence day.

Last week I wrote about the Russian private military company or mercenary group the Wagner Group, and some of its genesis. Wagner Group Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, aka YP and his prison to prominence rise was touched on too.

The Wagner Group leader YP led his 50,000 man force into Russia. They seized the Southern military outpost town of Rostov and advanced within 200 miles of Moscow. They shot down 8 Russian aircraft and captured military assets.

History repeats itself again. Roman Emperors knew popular generals and roman legions they commanded could be bad luck for them. Roman rulers were smart enough to listen to these generals in the field; Putin was not.

YP has been blasting Moscow’s military machine for months. Wisely, he never has blasted Putin but rather the out of touch military leaders. He has accused them of not supporting his group. First it was withholding ammunition and then lack of artillery and air support. In the midst of a heavy June counter-offensive he said Russian planes bombed and killed his troops. Guessing it’s no surprise Russia tried to silence him.

Wagner Group has been much more successful than the Russian military. I’m sure this does not sit well with the lifelong serving Russian generals. A professional military should have professional leaders, not boot licking bureaucrats. 

YP and his group struck out into Russia advancing close to Moscow. Another slap in the generals faces. I believe he did this in an effort to have a domino effect. He was hoping for Russian military defectors (especially officers) coming out to support him and he was frustrated with Russian war efforts.

The fallout from this will be huge.

1. It almost halted Russian efforts in Ukraine. 2. It disrupted the Russian government structure and showed how weak internally Russia is. 3. It has weakened Putin and shown how ineffective his leadership is. 4. It shows the Russian people they have a choice. This is the most dangerous of all things when you are a dictator.

A halt to the mutiny was brokered by the Belarusian leader a friend of both. YP is said to have been granted passage there. The Belarusian leader has been boasting about his role, which is another finger in the eye for Putin.

All the Wagner Group members will be pardoned by Putin.

I’d make a couple of bets. Either YP or Putin will be dead in a year. YP most certainly has a nuclear or chemical weapon at his disposal. I theorize it’s the only way one could belittle Putin on a world stage and survive. Or, Russia is a house of cards on the verge of collapse.

The conflict in Ukraine has been a repeat of military blunders. The rebellion in Russia by the Wagner Group is another example.

Send your veteran-related items to me at 11btwk@gmail.com.