Top U.S. officials on June 25 reacted to news out of Russia that the Wagner Group private military company had mounted a mutiny against the Russian state before withdrawing, saying it shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin is weaker within his own nation than many thought.
The conflict between Putin and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin—formerly known as “Putin’s chef” because of the close personal relationship the two enjoyed—kicked off on June 23 after a long-running feud between Prigozhin and Russia’s Defense Ministry appeared to reach a boiling point.
Prigozhin had claimed that Russian military forces intentionally killed a “huge” number of Wagner group contractors as part of his justification for the assault….