Russia will begin regime change after defeat in Ukraine war – diplomat Ohryzko

This opinion was expressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in 2007-2009, diplomat Volodymyr Ohryzko in an interview with Yuriy Fizer on Espreso TV.

He noted that the situation in Russia is now approaching critical. According to him, people who are a little bit capable of thinking despite the constant propaganda that has been going on for decades see that "the end of the comedy is just around the corner."

"And this comedy ending can be different. It can be a kind of peaceful transfer of power from Putin to someone with whom he will agree, and then everything seems to be fine. And there may be a completely different option, when everything starts to go uncontrollably, and various groups are formed around Putin that will attack the Kremlin in order to take power. And this is exactly the main intrigue," said Ohryzko.

The former minister notes that all those who are close to Putin are now thinking about whom to bet on and with whom to consolidate, forming certain associations. Thus, Russia is already beginning to create mini-armies. According to Ohryzko, Prigozhin already has them, Gazprom and some regional entities have them.

"These are unacceptable things for the state that controls the situation and for the government that controls the situation. This means that a collapse has begun, a managerial collapse. That is, the central government does not control what is happening on the ground," he said.

Mr. Ohryzko added that these mini-armies will begin to clarify their relations regarding the defence of what they own and their desire to take power within a larger territory or the entire country.

"We know from the history of the Russian Federation that as soon as the central government weakens, the serfs and boyars begin to look for answers to the questions they did not find when they were under the strict rule of centralised government. When centralization disappears, confusion begins, riots begin, and the collapse of what was considered absolutely impenetrable yesterday begins. This is exactly what we are seeing now in what is happening in the Russian Federation," the former minister emphasised.

He also emphasised that after the defeat of the Russian army in Ukraine, the Russian Federation will begin a phase of regime change.

"As soon as the so-called Joint Forces Operation ends, with the defeat of Russian troops, a new phase begins in Russia - the phase of regime change. We can't say how it will happen yet, but there are options. Personally, I am inclined to believe that there are many people around Putin who are thinking about either reaching a good agreement with him or sending him to the Hague to be slaughtered and blaming all his sins on him," Ohryzko summarised.

• As a reminder, relations between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the top military leadership of the Russian Federation have long been tense. On February 21, it became known that he had repeatedly complained about the lack of adequate ammunition supplies to his militants, publicly criticised and scandalised officials of the Russian Defense Ministry, including its head Sergei Shoigu. Recently, the founder of the Wagner PMC said that he and other high-ranking Wagnerites were completely disconnected from the Russian government's communication line and had all passes to Russian ministries blocked.

• On March 13, the Institute for the Study of War stated that the conflict between the Russian Defense Ministry and Yevgeniy Prygozhin had reached its climax amid the battle for Bakhmut.

• On May 15, it became known that Prigozhin allegedly offered Ukraine to disclose data on the positions of Russian troops for attacks in exchange for the withdrawal of Ukrainian army units from Bakhmut.