The leader of the Wagner mercenary group reiterated this Wednesday his refusal to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry, after President Vladimir Putin insisted on the need to legally cover the social benefits of combatants in Ukraine.
“When the homeland was in trouble, when Wagner’s help was needed and we all went to defend it, the President promised us all social guarantees,” Yevgeny Prigozhin wrote on his channel on the digital platform Telegram.
“I have 20,000 dead. Should they also sign a contract with the Defense Ministry?” Prigozhin asked sarcastically.
When the mercenaries began their involvement in the Russian war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, “nobody said” that they would be “forced to sign agreements with the Defense Ministry,” he said.
The leader of the group of Russian mercenaries, who had already said last weekend that he would not sign any agreement that would subordinate him to Defense, reiterated that “none of Wagner’s fighters is willing to go back down the path of shame. And for that, nobody will sign contracts”.
As for social benefits, he said the Russian parliament’s lower house (Duma) and Putin “will find a compromise solution” for the Wagners.
“As far as I know, the Ministry of Defense is now closing contracts with everyone who wants to continue serving in the zone of military special operations. That is the only way to guarantee social benefits,” Putin said Tuesday during a meeting with the military. correspondents and bloggers.
The Wagner group is not legal in Russia, but the Kremlin allows it to operate outside of Russian territory.
Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrei Kartapolov said on Tuesday that proposals were being prepared to determine the legal status of the private military company.
“We are not talking about legalization, we are talking about determining its legal form according to our legislation,” he explained.
Source: TSF
