Russia rebellion threat revives concern over nuclear arsenal security
- Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to leave Russia as Belarus brokers deal to end rebellion
- Crisis raised concerns in US intelligence circles about the security of Russia’s nuclear stockpile
The Wagner mercenary group’s march on Moscow has revived an old fear in Washington: what happens to Russia’s nuclear stockpile in the event of domestic upheaval.
An agreement on Saturday by Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to order his fighters back to their camps quelled immediate worries of major conflict inside Russia. But the episode signalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grasp on power is weakening.
Images of tanks on Russian streets brought to mind the failed 1991 coup by communist hardliners that raised concerns about the security of the Soviet nuclear arsenal and the possibility of a rogue commander stealing a warhead, said former US intelligence officials.
“The IC (intelligence community) will be super-focused on the (Russian) nuclear stockpile,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who oversaw the agency’s clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia.
“You want to know who has control of the nuclear weapons because you’re worried that terrorists or bad guys like (Chechen leader Ramzan) Kadyrov might come after them for the leverage they can get,” said Daniel Hoffman, a former senior CIA officer who served as the agency’s Moscow station chief.