Could Wagner’s mutiny help Ukraine?

currently on the front lines, or were pulled from there for this event.

“Wagner is designed for assaults and not for defensive operations. It was never clear what role they would play during Ukraine’s counteroffensive,” he added.

Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front line on Sunday said the Wagner revolt had not noticeably affected fighting around Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine.

Putin’s ‘weakened credibility’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Wagner’s aborted revolt exposed “real cracks” in Putin’s authority.

Prigozhin’s rebellion marked “a direct challenge to Putin’s authority,” the top American diplomat said.

French President Emmanuel Macron took a similar line, saying the revolt “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, and the fragility of both its military and its auxillary forces.”

Prigozhin’s long-standing feud with military top brass over the conduct of the

Putin accused Prigozhin of treason and vowed to punish the perpetrators, accusing them of pushing Russia to the brink of civil war

Russian operation in Ukraine boiled over on Saturday last, when Wagner forces seized a military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and advanced towards the capital.

In a fiery speech Saturday, Putin accused Prigozhin of treason and vowed to punish the perpetrators, accusing them of pushing Russia to the brink of civil war.

Just hours later, however, he had accepted a deal brokered by Minsk granting an amnesty for the Wagner chief and his men, and exile to Belarus for Prigozhin himself.

“This episode weakens the credibility of Putin, who appeared to be in panic on television on Saturday,” William Alberque of the International Institute for Strategic Studies told AFP.

“Everyone in Moscow is wondering: ‘If it was a five-minute insurrection, why did the president talk about civil war?’

“On the other hand, if Prigozhin stays alive, all the Russian security players will feel they have impunity,” he warned.

The threat from Belarus Kyiv had said the unrest offered a “window of opportunity” for its long-awaited counteroffensive.

But Moscow insisted that the mutiny would not affect its operations in Ukraine. Russian strikes continued Saturday, killing five people in Kyiv, according to the city’s

An inquiry in relation to urgency is its necessity, do we need it at all?

As Sonny Africa from IBON wrote, if we have an excess in budget, then we are better off spending it on public services. Programs that would immediately help citizens. It would be better spent on “urgent ayuda, wage subsidies, small business support, and public schools and hospitals.” mayor.

Why can’t we support agriculture and industrialization better too if we do have the budget for it?

Allocating the budget to our different sectors (with matching effective programs, of course) will have more tangible benefits to the average Filipino.

A sovereign wealth fund can also be prone to corruption.

Malaysia has 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), their state-owned investment fund.

Allegedly, a huge amount of the money raised for it was stolen under Prime Minister Najib Razak.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, it has been spent on bribes, a luxury yacht, and fine art.

With a vague plan for the MIF, it remains vulnerable to corruption as well. For one, infrastructure projects which they want to invest on has always been prone to corruption.

Additionally, according to Abrea, the success of an SWF would depend on the absence of corruption.

And. according to the 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), the Philippines ranked 116 out of 180.

With all of these criticisms, we continue to ask, do we really need the Maharlika Investment Fund? What will it give to the average Filipino?

On Sunday, Russia said it repelled several Ukrainian assaults in the east and south of the country, where Kyiv had announced gains.

But experts believe the mutiny will be a blow to the morale of Russian troops in Ukraine, who have endured heavy losses in 16 months for marginal territorial gains.

“This must affect Russian morale,” said Pierre Razoux, academic director of the France-based Mediterranean Foundation of Strategic Studies.

“On the Ukrainian side, there is perhaps a momentum to be used to break through the front line, or at any rate to gain positions”.

But he warned Ukraine would “also have to secure the Belarus border because they are not safe from a treacherous blow.

“If 15,000 of Wagner’s men pour in from Belarus, they can do some damage. Maybe that’s what Prigozhin has negotiated with Putin.” AFP