Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP Public Square, and Guillaume Ancel, former French army officer and military expert, were the guests of “8:30 am franceinfo” Monday June 26, 2023.
Vladimir Putin exits “humbled” of the rebellion of the paramilitary group Wagner in Russia, underlined Monday June 26 Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP Public square, guest of 8:30 franceinfo. “In reality, he has been humiliated for 15 months by the Ukrainian resistance, and he must be humiliated”adds the one who sits among the Socialists in the European Parliament. “In history, fascist leaders do not fall until they are humiliated, until they are defeated militarily,” he points.
For his part, Guillaume Ancel, a former French army officer and military expert, believes that the Wagner militia did not “more soldiers”. According to him, “Prigozhin had most of his mercenaries massacred in the Battle of Bakhmout, which he lost”.
Wagner’s Rebellion: “The Failure of the Russian Army”
“Putin really wavered for 24 hours. Putin’s absolute power wavered, wavered because of one of his creatures”, explained Guillaume Ancel. According to the military expert, this failed rebellion “is the failure of the Russian army in Ukraine that makes Yevgeny Viktorovitch Prigojine revolt against a Russian army which he understands is incapable of opposing the power of the Ukrainian army supported by the Allies “.
“For Putin, the fact that his war dog is revolting is a humiliation”outbid the European deputy of Place Publique Raphaël Glucksmann. “Prigojine was the man who took on all the conflicts that Putin could not take on himself” especially in Africa, he explains.
The fate of militia leader Wagner remains unresolved and his future is very uncertain. Belarus could welcome him in the next few days: “We will have to settle his fate. He dared to challenge Putin’s power. It was Putin in fact who he attacked when he was his creature. Putin cannot stop there”, assures Guillaume Ancel. According to him, the militiaman made a strategic mistake: “A hero who withdraws is no longer a hero, he is someone lost. What Prigozhin did was a fatal error: to revolt against his master and to retract. He had to go all the way. And now, his destiny is to disappear”, he assured. Guillaume Ancel “I think the FSB, the former KGB, played a key role in stopping this crisis and preventing Prigozhin from having the support he needed to overthrow power.”
Wagner militia: It “has no more soldiers”
“Wagner has hardly any soldiers left”says Guillaume Ancel. Prigojine had most of his mercenaries massacred in the Battle of Bakhmout, which he lost. In reality, he had more than 20,000 men massacred, there are more than 80,000 wounded on Wagner’s side, which means that Wagner hardly exists any more in terms of soldiers.” assures the military specialist. In the convoys going back to Moscow last Saturday, it was “vans. There was very little military equipment”, he said. Moreover, “What worried the Russian power a lot was that inside, there were undoubtedly regular military units”, he explained. According to him, “The essence of Wagner’s strength is his power of communication. They are armies of trolls and his ability to communicate”.
Vladimir Putin: “A mafioso” who has created “permanent chaos”
The strongman of the Kremlin “is a mobster who has cultivated mobsters and created permanent chaos. Chaos within their borders and chaos outside their borders”, explained Raphaël Glucksmann. Putin acts with his opponents as the mafia can act: “How many people have passed through the window, who have drunk tea, who have died because of Vladimir Putin?”, he wondered. Physical eliminations organized on our own territory, he assures: “I find it amazing in the weakness of the reactions of Westerners for decades now, it is that this mafia regime has taken its tentacles to the very heart of our cities and that we have not reacted”he denounced.
Guillaume Ancel confirms the “mafia system”. According to him, “You have to look at Prigojine as being Putin’s mirror. It’s just one of his creatures that revolted against him. It’s the image of his mirror that suddenly comes inside him”, he said. From now on, “the key to this war” in Ukraine, “It’s Putin and the mafia regime that reign in Russia. The day this regime falls, we can discuss with his successors”he explained.
Westerners: “We must humiliate this regime”
Now that the leader of the militiamen has entered the ranks, “It is imperative that Russia loses militarily in Ukraine and that we get out of our minds this idea that Putin absolutely needs a way out, that it is absolutely necessary to avoid the humiliation of the Russian people and the Russian regime”affirms with force Raphaël Glucksmann. “This is a fundamental strategic error. This regime must be humiliated. The regime itself must be humiliated. The Russian population must feel that this imperialism is a dead end and that in the end all this will lead to the loss of Russia”, he continued. According to the MEP, Westerners must do more in their support for Ukraine and must “now clearly display a strategic objective” which is, according to him, that “the last Russian soldier must leave the ground of Ukraine”. For that, “we have to reverse the balance of power, much more than we are doing today. We have delivered enough equipment to Ukraine so that Ukraine does not collapse. For Ukraine to resist now, it we have to deliver enough equipment for Ukraine to win militarily. That’s the challenge for the coming weeks.”he explains.
Raphaël Glucksmann pointed out Emmanuel Macron’s position: “We must stop with this idea of France as a power of mediation. France is a European power which will be at the heart of the construction of European defense and this begins by being at the heart of the resistance to the offensive and the attack. attack on Vladimir Putin”he said.
For his part, Guillaume Ancel also criticizes the French head of state who, according to him, is in “the confusion” between “European power and French power. It’s quite unfortunate that when he talks about the relationship with Putin, he doesn’t say on behalf of the European Union”he lamented. “Today, this war in Ukraine is first and foremost a challenge for Europe. It is not France that can win against Putin”he estimated. “Emmanuel Macron is extremely ambiguous”he added.