Thanasis Gavos

The British government’s assessment of the importance of his mutiny Yevgeny Prigozhin has led to the conclusion that London must be prepared for a possible one “sudden collapse” of Russia and the Putin regime, the Times writes.

According to the newspaper, “Since the beginning of the invasion, British officials have believed that the war in Ukraine could lead to political unrest in Russia. But the speed of the weekend’s events has left diplomats hastily preparing for various outcomes.”

A senior government source cited by the Times comments that among the various scenarios for which the British side must be prepared is indeed even a sudden fall of Putin.

“We have to wait, watch and see what happens next. This could be the first chapter of something new.” says the paper’s government source referring to Prigozhin’s moves.

British Undersecretary for Finance John Glenn adds that support for Ukraine remains unwavering, but London will not interfere in Moscow’s internal affairs. “It’s obviously a very volatile situation in Russia, but it’s fundamentally an internal issue.”

In any case, with reference to the perspective that appeared on Saturday about the overthrow of Putin by Prigozhin, Britain’s former military attaché in Moscow John Forman comments that it would be “the worst case scenario”. As he explains, “we have to be careful what we wish for, Prigozhin is not some liberal, pacifist democrat – he is a fascist.”

He admitted that the development of the situations on Saturday caught the Western diplomats by surprise: “Our assessment was that something like this would happen more gradually. That we wouldn’t have some sudden march towards Moscow”.

Finally, former UK ambassador to Russia Sir Roderick Lyne estimates that Putin’s grip on power is weakening: “I think the chances of Putin staying in power indefinitely, which is what he wants, have decreased, but for time is still in control.”