Energy and military analysts are reporting that Russian state energy utility Gazprom has set up its own private army and sent recruits to the frontline in Ukraine. Oil and gas companies have long employed people with military backgrounds to protect their assets around the world. However, it now appears those personnel are being used to help the Kremlin with its invasion of Ukraine. And it's not the only company sending their workers to fight on the front line. RusEnergy analyst Mikhail Krutikhin brings DW Business his insights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkXoSqSbWiU
More PMC groups, actually preparing for the collapse.
07MAY2023 ‘Russia is Closer to Collapse Than You Think,’ US political analyst and author Janusz Bugajski predicts the imminent and dramatic demise of Russia as we know it today.
We already see signs of conflict between different power institutions, mysterious deaths of over a dozen oligarchs, and frequent purges of the military leadership.
The rupture will accelerate after Putin expires or is ousted, as internal power struggles intensify, and some regional leaders will see an opportunity for forming new states similar to what occurred during the collapse of the USSR.
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Washington and Brussels need to break out of their status quo mindset and start planning for all eventualities in Russia, including civil wars, peaceful secessions, extensive economic collapse, regional spillovers (war, guerrilla movements, refugees, etc.).
The West can strengthen the security of NATO allies and partners that border a collapsing Russia, facilitate cooperation among emerging entities to defuse latent conflicts, and launch initiatives for multinational cooperation, institution building, and democratic development. Post-Russia will be a challenge for the next generation just as post-communism was a challenge for a previous generation.