Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that he had offered Wagner’s men to serve under someone else’s official command, but that their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, refused the offer after his aborted mutiny.
In an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant published Thursday evening, the Russian president gave details of his meeting, on June 29 in the Kremlin, with Yevgueni Prigojine and the commanders of the Wagner group. Wagner’s soldiers “could have been gathered in one place and continued to serve. For them, nothing would have changed, they would have been led by the person who was their real commander throughout this period,” Vladimir Putin said.
Kommersant specifies that the person mentioned by the Russian president is a commander of Wagner with the pseudonym “Sedoï” (grey hair) and who, according to Vladimir Putin, really led the paramilitaries on the Ukrainian front during the last 16 months. “A lot of (Wagner’s commanders) nodded when I said that. But (Yevgeny) Prigozhin, who was sitting in front, didn’t see it and said after listening ‘No, the guys are not not agree with this solution'”, assured Vladimir Putin.
The question of Wagner’s legal status
The Russian president claimed to have discussed during this meeting, on June 29, “possible solutions” so that the Wagner group continues to fight for Russia and to have given his “appreciation” of the events of June 24. In his interview at KommersantHe also referred to the Wagner Group’s lack of formal legal status in Russia, where private military companies are not permitted by law. “The group (Wagner) is there, but it does not exist legally! […] This is another question related to (their) effective legalization. A question that must be raised in the Duma (lower house of parliament), in the government,” he said.
Wagner’s rebellion shook Russian power, in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine. For several hours, the fighters of this group occupied a Russian army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don (southwest) and traveled several hundred kilometers towards Moscow. The mutiny ended on the evening of June 24 with an agreement providing for Mr. Prigozhin’s departure for Belarus, while his fighters could join him there, join the regular Russian army or return to civilian life.