DISINFO: The West planned a military coup in Russia via Prigozhin, intends to do the same in Georgia
SUMMARY
The West is planning a coup d'état in Georgia by the hands of the Georgians, just as it planned a military coup in Russia by the hands of Prigozhin. It failed there, but may not be thwarted in Georgia.
RESPONSE
A conspiracy narrative from pro-Kremlin media outlets aiming to explain the Wagner's group attempted mutiny in Russia. Analysts and researchers have pointed out that anti-Western conspiracy theories about all-powerful secret elites are a political tool used by the Kremlin to strengthen the domestic stability of the current regime and expand its influence abroad by emphasising Russia’s moral superiority.
The Wagner group is the child of Putin's own system and not of any Western plot. Putin admitted that the Wagner PMC was financed by the Russian State. Wagner participated in Russia's hybrid war in Donbas since 2014 denying any involvement of the Russian State and was also used for the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As HRVP Josep Borrell said:
''The most important conclusion is that the war against Ukraine launched by Putin, and the monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now. The monster is acting against his creator. The political system is showing its fragilities and the military power is cracking. So, this is an important consequence of the war in Ukraine''.
The Wagner group has been operating in a number of African countries in full understanding of the Kremlin and as part of Moscow's hybrid foreign policy instruments. Yevgeny Prigozhin is wanted in the US for the Presidential election meddling.
See our account of the weekend-mutiny here: "Prigozhin and glossing over Russian fragility and cracks in military power".
See our article "Always blame the West", which describes this disinformation strategy.
See also more disinformation cases on destabilising Russia and Western led coups.