After the Wagner group’s rebellion against Vladimir Putin and after the death of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, it was unclear for a long time what would happen to its army.
Initially, a large part of the troops were in Belarus, but since then seem to have rejoined the Russian army.
Earlier last fall, the think tank The institute for the study of war, ISW, wrote that remnants of the Wagner group appeared on the battlefield around Ukrainian Avdijivka, where fierce fighting is still raging. This with reference to Russian military bloggers.
Rose Guard
In its latest analysis, the British Ministry of Defense now writes that parts of the Wagner Group joined the Russian National Guard, Rosgvardia.
“As of the end of October 2023, large parts of the Wagner Group’s private military company had probably been assimilated into the command structure of the Russian National Guard and resumed active recruitment,” writes the department on X.
It is believed that other parts of the Wagner group are now part of the Russian military company Redut, which is fighting in Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin.
“The Russian state now exercises more direct control over the activities and former personnel of the Wagner Group following the July 2023 mutiny and subsequent death of Wagner’s leadership in August 2023,” writes the British Ministry of Defence.
Heir Pavel, 25
According to New York Times the Russian National Guard also fights on Ukrainian soil.
It is believed that the part of the Wagner Group that now belongs to Rosgvardia is led by Pavel Prigozhin, 25, son of Yevgeny.
According to ISW, Pavel Prigozhin looks set to inherit the vast majority of his father’s wealth, including military troops, real estate and just over £100m