Putin's power is 'crumbling,' Zelenskyy says

Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s power is “crumbling” following the failed mutiny in Moscow in late June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“We see Putin’s reaction. It’s weak,” Zelsnkyy told CNN in an interview taped over the weekend and previewed Monday morning. “All that vertical of power he used to have is just crumbling down.”

Zelenskyy referenced the Kremlin’s response to the rebellion spearheaded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former catering magnate and powerful warlord who attempted to oust Russia’s top military officials. He had publicly criticized Moscow’s military leadership throughout the war, blaming the officials for the mounting death toll of his paramilitary Wagner Group fighters.

Although Prigozhin’s plan was foiled shortly after it began — Russia’s intelligence agency found out about the plan days before it happened — the fact that Wagner fighters were able to move through Russia largely unchallenged shows weakness in the Kremlin, Zelensnkyy said.

“Firstly, we see [Putin] doesn’t control everything,” he said in the interview, which will fully air Wednesday. “Wagner’s moving deep into Russia and taking certain regions shows how easy it is to do. Putin doesn’t control the situation in the regions.”