Is the Ukraine war over? Update: Coup-us interruptus? HotAir

Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko apparently brokered a truce between Putin and Prigozhin, complete with some sort of security guarantees.

Negotiations continued throughout the day. As a result, they came to agreements on the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloody massacre on the territory of Russia, Lukashenko s press service announced, per a Ukrainian Pravda translation. At the moment, there is an absolutely profitable and acceptable option on the table for resolving the situation, with security guarantees for Wagner PMC fighters.

The boast was met with skepticism abroad.

Lukashenko is no one he can not offer anything and he can not protect anyone against [Putin], a second senior European official told the Washington Examiner. If it is played out like that, then this is theater. If Prigozhin will live, it is theater.

Yes, indeed. If that s on the level, then Prigozhin is an idiot. Putin doesn t allow dissidents to stay free, especially not those who raise up an army against him. There are no such things with Putin as security guarantees. Either Putin and Prigozhin cooked this up as a way to make an excuse to exit Ukraine while blaming the whole mess on Shoigu and others in the oligarchical circle, or Prigozhin and his lieutenants are dead men walking.

And in any case, this much disarray still leaves the Russian war effort much worse off than before. It may not immediately end it, but the internecine warfare dooms it even more to failure.

via hotair.com