Is the Russian mutiny now at hand?
Yesterday we pointed out how odd it was that Vladimir Putin, in the fight of his life, and losing fairly badly, was trying (and failing) to get allies like Kazakhstan to send troops into Ukraine. Why isn’t Putin simply sending in more Russian Army troops? Putin would seem to have little reason to hold back now; he’s already bet everything on being able to steal Ukraine and get away with it.
We wondered aloud if perhaps the Russian Army was just that depleted, or poorly trained, or not as large as we’d all been led to believe, or if the oligarchs had told Putin he wasn’t allowed to use any more Russian troops. There had to be some explanation for why Putin was begging for help from his friends instead of sending in more of his own troops. Now we may be getting that answer.
Senator Tim Kaine appeared on MSNBC just now and said he’s hearing reports that some Russian Army troops are refusing to cross the border and fight in Ukraine. This would be a mutiny on the part of these troops. It would certainly explain why Putin has been reduced to asking for third party troops to join the fray. This development is certainly worth watching.
If a mutiny is underway, how will Putin deal with it? Would he resort to arresting or killing his own troops? Who would arrest them? Just how widespread is this reported mutiny? We’ll see.
