Russia is now vulnerable to a civil war in the aftermath of the Wagner mutiny, the head of Ukraine's intelligence has claimed.
Major-General Kyrylo Budanov has warned that Russian research showing support for Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner rebellion could lead to the collapse of Putin's government.
Secret internal analysis suggests Russia "is on the edge of the civil war" which could tear the country apart.
According to the report conducted by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) - which Budanov has access to - the "March of Justice" attempted coup last month was backed by huge public support.
Major-General Kyrylo Budanov has warned that Russian research showing support for Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner rebellion could lead to the collapse of Putin's government
Reuters
Ukraine's head of intelligence said the MVD had used new-generation spyware technology to monitor the public while enforcing the law across Russia.
The data revealed that during the mutiny, on June 24 and 25, the Russian ministry had assessed that Prigozhin had popular support in 17 of Russia’s 46 regions.
“The situation is indicating exactly what our service has been talking about: that the Russian Federation is on the edge of the civil war," Budanov told The Times.
"There needs to be a small internal ‘affair’, and the internal conflict will be intensified.”
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However, social media analysis and trending opinion figures don't necessarily translate into Russian citizens willing to take up arms.
But Budanov said they indicate the Russian society "is torn into two pieces."
Following the mutiny, support for the Wagner chief had dwindled rapidly, while loyalty to Putin remained strong.
Speaking about the war, Budanov added: “What’s Russia’s goal? Not one person there could state what they want here. They say that they want to make Ukraine ‘not anti-Russian’.
Prigozhin finally broke his silence earlier this week to defend his armed mutiny against Moscow
Orchestra_w Telegram channel"Despite saying that, they do everything that is counter-productive to achieve that goal.”
Prigozhin finally broke his silence earlier this week to defend his armed mutiny against Moscow - a week after fleeing to Belarus.
The warlord released a voice message defending his attempted coup as a "march to justice" and claimed he had set out to complete his mission to "fight the traitors and mobilise society".
He finished his speech by urging the Russian people to stand up for him as he pleaded: "We need your support more than ever."
