Bosman says the unrest in the area is seen by many Russians as a failure. “That this happens is very damaging to the confidence of the Russians, especially in those regions.” The Volunteer Corps involved in the unrest also carried out an attack earlier this year in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, according to the Russian correspondent. At the same time, Kiev reports that the counteroffensive has already begun, but this is not an isolated event. According to Volodimir Zelensky’s adviser Mychajlo Podoljak, these are dozens of different actions.
Coup d’etat
Meanwhile, two Russian partisan groups and the Russian military also clashed in the Russian border village of Kozinka this week. The village is said to have been taken over by anti-Kremlin nationalist militias. An “anti-terrorist operation” was declared by local authorities. According to Bosman, this means that the security services will have additional powers to wiretap citizens. As a result, the war is now also being fought on Russian territory. The Russia correspondent says that the Russian military and FSB security service troops have retaken a number of settlements.
Not only does Russian President Vladimir Putin have to fear partisan groups, Wagner’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin also strongly criticizes the Russian military and the Russian elite. He also warns of a new revolution “if the elite continue to protect their children from military service.” On Thursday, Prigzojin began withdrawing his troops from the Ukrainian city of Bachmut. Boss Wagner said he did not trust the Russian army which will now take over the city. According to Bosman, criticism of Prigozhin and his Wagner group seems to be slowly reaching the Russian population. “It’s almost a disguised argument for a coup.”
The chip war broke out
There is also a threat to Russia from the Ukrainian side. Defense specialist Peter Wijninga of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague says the Russians assume they can be attacked anywhere. Wijninga deduces this from the positions of the Russian defenses being built along the front. “Ukraine has made it very clear that it wants Crimea back,” Wijninga says. The defense specialist expects the Ukrainian armed forces to strike mainly in the south. “But there are countless possibilities.”
As the battle between Russia and Ukraine continues, the chip war between China and the United States has also broken out. China will ban the import of chips from America’s largest chip maker Micron. According to high-tech expert Paul Verhagen of The Hague Center for Strategic Studies, this is the first proactive step the Chinese are taking to free themselves from the Western tech ecosystem. Previously, both the United States and Europe have imposed numerous boycotts on China.