The Kremlin said on Friday that it was considering legalizing private military companies, including the Wagner Group, whose existence is still not permitted under Russian law despite its involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
“Legally, the Wagner private military company does not exist and has never existed, this is a question that needs to be studied, examined further,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
According to Dmitri Peskov, this is “a rather complex question, relating to the legal status of such companies, and which needs to be studied.”
“A question that must be raised” in parliament
These statements by the spokesman for the Russian presidency follow a similar message the day before from Vladimir Putin, in an interview with the daily Kommersant.
“The group [Wagner] It’s there, but it doesn’t exist legally! (…) This is another question related to [leur] effective legalization. A question that must be raised in the Duma [chambre basse du Parlement, NDLR]in the government,” said Vladimir Putin.
On June 27, the Russian president stated that the Wagner group had received nearly one billion euros from the state over the past year, despite its lack of legal status.
Progressive formalization of Wagner’s existence
For years, the leader of the Kremlin and Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, denied the existence of this paramilitary group, tasked with carrying out military missions and shadow influence operations on behalf of Moscow.
In September 2022, Yevgeny Prigojine finally admitted to being the Wagner leader, who fully participated in the fighting against the Ukrainian army and, in particular, captured the city of Bakhmout, after months of fierce fighting. Other private Russian military groups, some linked to big business or the Defense Ministry, have since revealed their existence.
This Kremlin announcement comes at a time of speculation about possible military reshuffles after the failed Wagner rebellion on June 24, which shook Russian power. For several hours, the group’s fighters occupied an army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don (southwest), and traveled several hundred kilometers to Moscow.
The mutiny ended on the night of June 24, with an agreement providing for Yevgeny Prigojine’s departure to Belarus, while his fighters could join him there, join the regular army, or return to civilian life.
Putin says he proposed a new leader to Wagner
In his interview in KommersantVladimir Putine claimed to have proposed to Wagner’s fighters, at the time of a meeting with the Kremlin on June 29, to serve under the command of another man but that Evgeny Prigokhine had rejected this offer.
Wagner’s soldiers “could have 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 true commander during this entire period,” Vladimir Putin said.
Kommersant it specifies that this man is a major Wagner with the nom de guerre “Sedoï” (grey hair) and who, according to Vladimir Putin, actually led the paramilitaries on the Ukrainian front.
“A lot [de commandants de Wagner] he nodded when I said that. But [Evguéni] Prigozhin, who was sitting in front, did not see him and said, after hearing: ‘No, the guys do not agree with this solution,'” Putin said.
Source: BFM TV
