Putin has ‘absolutely’ been weakened after the revolt in Russia. President Joe Biden told CNN on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has been “absolutely” damaged by the weekend rebellion.
It was his most explicit statement to date on how Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s revolt harmed the Russian leader’s standing.
Biden and his colleagues have been circumspect in their comments on the events, fearful of giving Putin a reason to accuse the West of plotting to depose him. However, on Wednesday, Biden elaborated on his assessment of Putin’s weakened status.
When asked if the Russian president had been weakened, Biden replied, “Absolutely.”
Later, when asked about the depth of Putin’s vulnerability, Biden stated that it was difficult to determine.
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“He’s losing the war at home. He’s become a bit of a pariah around the world. And it’s not just NATO, it’s not just the European Union, it’s Japan,” he added.
Asked again if Putin is weaker today than he was last week, Biden said: “I know he is.”
“It’s hard to tell but he’s clearly losing the war,” Biden told reporters on the White House South Lawn, mistakenly referring to the war in Iraq instead of Ukraine.
Putin has ‘absolutely’ been weakened after a revolt in Russia, says Biden.
Earlier this week, Biden attempted to separate the US from the weekend Russian insurrection, stressing in his first public remarks since the incident that the West had nothing to do with the mutiny.
Nonetheless, American intelligence agencies were able to predict that Prigozhin was planning to challenge the Russian military ahead of time, demonstrating how closely the US had been following relations between Moscow and the Wagner leader.
Speaking from the White House, Biden said it was too early to predict how the issue might play out in the future.
“It’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going,” he said in the East Room. “The ultimate outcome of all this remains to be seen, but no matter what comes next I will keep making sure that our allies and our partners are closely aligned in how we are reading and responding to the situation.”
JUST IN – Biden says Putin ” is clearly losing the war in Iraq” pic.twitter.com/Y3kIikgtwv
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Since the weekend’s events, Biden has spoken with the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. He also had a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Earlier Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that Prigozhin’s uprising may help Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
“To the extent that Moscow is distracted by its own internal divisions, that may help,” Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“To the extent that the Wagner forces themselves are no longer on the front lines, that could help, because they have been effective. They just literally throw people into a meat grinder of Putin’s own making, but that’s had some effect,” Blinken continued.
