JRL NEWSWATCH: “The humbling of Vladimir Putin: The Wagner mutiny exposes the Russian tyrant’s growing weakness. But don’t count him out yet” – The Economist
“The last pretence of … Putin to be … one of his nation’s historic rulers was stripped away …. [A]rmed mercenaries swept through his country almost unopposed, covering some 750km (470 miles) in a single day, seizing control of two big cities and getting to within 200km of Moscow before withdrawing unharmed. [] Putin long ago failed as a reformer … presid[ing] over ever-deepening corruption and economic stagnation and unable to make Russia anything more than a purveyor of hydrocarbons …. He is failing … as a great wartime commander, 16 months after starting an invasion … he expected to be over in … days … which has turned into a quagmire. Now … he cannot even … ensure the security of the state. … [] Putin … appears … bent on … presiding over savage repression and purges. … [S]ooner or later, his ability to ride out trouble will desert him. The world will need to be ready …. Of the many possible outcomes, the collapse of order in a country with more than 4,000 nuclear warheads would be terrifying. Yet [] Putin has shown that corrupt, one-man rule is no way to run a superpower. …”