Current:Home > NewsUkraine security chief claims Wagner boss "owned by" Russian military officers determined to topple Putin-InfoLens
Ukraine security chief claims Wagner boss "owned by" Russian military officers determined to topple Putin
View Date:2024-12-23 11:15:25
Kyiv — Adoring supporters greeted President Vladimir Putin in southern Russia's Dagestan region Wednesday as the Kremlin continued projecting an image of a leader who's popular and in control of his country. But less than a week after Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed insurrection, a lot of questions remain about the strength of Putin's two-decade-plus grip on power.
CBS News learned Wednesday that the U.S. has intelligence suggesting a senior Russian general had advanced knowledge of the mutiny, raising the possibility that the Wagner leader believed he would have support for his putsch from within the Russian military.
- Russia blows up packed Ukraine restaurant days after Wagner mutiny
The Kremlin dismissed those claims as speculation and gossip, but in his first interview since the weekend uprising, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, has told CBS News he believes Prigozhin was in league with not just one Russian military officer, but 14.
"Prigozhin is not an independent person," Danilov told CBS News. "He is owned by high-ranking people in President Putin's inner circle… They are his owners."
"This is a group of people who have a goal to change the leadership of Russia," claimed Danilov.
One senior general widely reported to be involved or at least to have known about Prigozhin's attempted uprising is Sergei Surovikin, who commanded Russia's war in Ukraine for several months until he was demoted in January as Russian troops lost ground.
The former overall commander of Russia's Air Force, Surovikin — who earned the nickname "General Armageddon" for this ruthless bombing campaigns in Syria — hasn't been seen since telling the Wagner mutineers to return to their bases as Saturday's mutiny foundered. Two U.S. officials told CBS News on Thursday that Gen. Surovikin had been detained in Russia. It was not clear whether the senior Russian commander remained in custody, or had just been detained for questioning and then released.
Asked about Surovikin Thursday at the Kremlin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred reporters to Russia's defense ministry.
We asked Danilov if Surovikin was one of the generals involved in the brief mutiny.
"Do you want me to name them all?" Danilov asked with a sarcastic smile. "I can't."
Many analysts say Putin has been weakened more by the revolt than any other challenge he's faced since rising to power in Russia almost a quarter of a century ago, and Danilov believes the Russian leader may face another rebellion.
"Even if he executes the generals who had some sort of part in the mutiny, this will not affect the outcome," Danilov told CBS News. "The wheels are in motion for Putin's demise."
Danilov believes the chaos brought by the failed mutiny in Russia will eventually benefit Ukraine as it wages a grinding counteroffensive against Putin's invasion.
Among America's close European allies, who have supported Ukraine alongside Washington, there was clearly apprehension Thursday about what a "weaker" Putin, or those around him, might do next.
"A weaker Putin is a greater danger," Josep Borrell, the European Union's top foreign affairs and security official, told reporters in Brussels. "Now we have to look at Russia as a risk because of internal instability."
- In:
- Wagner Group
- War
- yevgeny prigozhin
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Vladimir Putin
- coup d'etat
Ian Lee is a CBS News correspondent based in London, where he reports for CBS News, CBS Newspath and CBS News Streaming Network. Lee, who joined CBS News in March 2019, is a multi-award-winning journalist, whose work covering major international stories has earned him some of journalism's top honors, including an Emmy, Peabody and the Investigative Reporters and Editors' Tom Renner award.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (2179)
Related
- Threat closes Spokane City Hall and cancels council meeting in Washington state
- Unprecedented surge in anti-Arab, anti-Muslim bias incidents reported in U.S. since Israel-Hamas war, advocacy group says
- How Ryan Reynolds Supported Wrexham Player Anthony Forde's Wife Laura Amid Her Brain Tumor Battle
- Police investigate vandalism at US Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s Texas office over Israel-Hamas war
- Walmart Planned to Remove Oven Before 19-Year-Old Employee's Death
- What is Veterans Day? Is it a federal holiday? Here's what you need to know.
- 100,000 marijuana convictions expunged in Missouri, year after recreational use legalized
- 52 years after he sent it home from Vietnam, this veteran was reunited with his box of medals and mementos
- Amazon Prime Video to stream Diamond Sports' regional networks
- Louisiana governor announces access to paid parental leave for state employees
Ranking
- Louisiana man kills himself and his 1-year-old daughter after a pursuit
- Niger fashion designer aims to show a positive image of her country at Joburg Fashion Week
- Former New Mexico State basketball players charged with sexual assault
- RHOBH's Crystal Kung Minkoff Says These Real Housewives Were Rude at BravoCon
- Judith Jamison, acclaimed Alvin Ailey American dancer and director, dead at 81
- EU plan aimed at fighting climate change to go to final votes, even if watered down
- Palestinian soccer team prepares for World Cup qualifying games against a backdrop of war
- Andre Iguodala named acting executive director of National Basketball Players Association
Recommendation
-
Georgia House Republicans stick with leadership team for the next two years
-
Hear Dua Lipa's flirty, ridiculously catchy new song 'Houdini' from upcoming third album
-
Home and Away Actor Johnny Ruffo Dead at 35
-
Shohei Ohtani helping donate 60,000 baseball gloves to Japanese schools
-
Biden, Harris participate in Veterans Day ceremony | The Excerpt
-
The movie 'Elf' is coming back to select theaters to celebrate 20th anniversary
-
Fugitive suspect in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol surrenders to police in New Jersey
-
52 years after he sent it home from Vietnam, this veteran was reunited with his box of medals and mementos