NEW WAGNER CHIEF: Anton Jelizarov. Photo: From the Wagner Group Telegram channel
The new head of the Wagner Group has appeared for the first time in a video – and everything indicates that the controversial mercenaries now belong to the Russian National Guard, which is directly under President Vladimir Putin.
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- The Wagner Group’s new boss, Anton Jelizarov, appears in the video.
- The Wagner group, formerly led by Prigozhin who died in 2023, is now believed to be under the control of the Russian National Guard.
- Former Wagner soldiers are preparing for war efforts in Ukraine and Africa.
- The National Guard is directly subordinate to President Vladimir Putin.
- New Wagner headquarters are in Rostov, near the border with Ukraine, and are interpreted as evidence of the Kremlin’s control over the group.
Sea view
For the Kremlin, it is important to ensure that the Wagner soldiers now become loyal to them, says an expert to VG. She points to the attempted coup under Prigozhin in June 2023.
The new boss is named Anton Jelizarov. The Wagner Group’s old commander Dmitry Utkin and owner Yevgeny Prigozhin both died in the same plane crash in August 2023.
– He says in the video that the Wagner soldiers have always protected, protect and will always protect the Russian people, which is interesting, because I would think that with that sentence he is following in Prigozhin’s footsteps as a self-proclaimed “protector of the people”, says Karen Philippa Larsen at the Danish Institute for International Studies to VG.
IN THE FIELD: The new Wagner boss will be known for being out in the field with his soldiers. Photo: From the Wagner Group Telegram channel
– This was what Prigozhin often used in his conflict with the military leaders, whom he often accused of sitting in “expensive clubs” far from the front and not suffering during the war in the same way as most Russians, Larsen continues.
British intelligence signs on X:
– The Russian state wants the Wagner group to be subordinate to Rosgvardia, in order to remove any potential threat that Wagner may pose to the Russian regime.
Yevgeny Prigozhin photographed with two Wagner soldiers outside Bakhmut in May 2023. Photo: PRESS SERVICE OF CONCORD / Reuters
Rosgvardia is the Russian National Guard, which has 340,000 employees, and is thus directly subordinate to President Putin.
– Rosgvardia is probably preparing a unit of experienced Wagner soldiers to reinforce Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and expand Russian influence in Africa, writes British intelligence.
Karen Philippa Larsen is not surprised:
– It is no surprise that they are directly subordinated to the National Guard. We heard rumors about it already last year.
RUMORS: After there were rumors that he had gone missing, the new Wagner boss Anton Jelizarov appeared in a video, from which this picture is taken. Photo: From the Wagner Group Telegram channel
– Now they come directly under Putin?
– Yes, they do! The National Guard is directly subordinate to Putin. Perhaps it is another attempt to ensure loyalty. And it may also be to attract those who were most involved in Prigozhin’s criticism of the military summits. Those who were most critical may not want to sign for the Ministry of Defence, but it may be that some will be more attracted to becoming part of the National Guard.
British intelligence also interprets the video on Telegram such as that the Wagner Group is in the process of building a new headquarters in the city of Rostov in southern Russia, near the border with Ukraine. In the same complex, Rosgvardia soldiers and the 150th Motorized Infantry Division will be stationed.
This is therefore seen as confirmation that the Kremlin has taken full control of the Wagner group.
It was at the end of June 2023 that the then Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin sent his troops towards Moscow. They did not get very far, but it was interpreted as an attempted coup by the controversial Wagner boss.
BOSSES: Both bosses of the Wagner group, Dmitry Utkin (tv) and Yevgeny Prigozhin, lost their lives in the plane crash in August 2023. Photo: STRINGER / X80002
Two months later, Prigozhin, the Wagner founder Utkin and other bosses in the group died in a plane crash that most experts interpret as an arranged accident – i.e. an assassination.
– After the uprising and Prigozhin’s death, the group has been split. Immediately after the mutiny, all the Wagner soldiers were told that they were faced with the choice of signing a contract with the Ministry of Defence, laying down their arms and going home, or going to Belarus with Prigozhin, who was then still alive. So we can say that they were already divided then.
– Later we heard that Redut, which is another private company of mercenaries, has recruited some of the Wagner soldiers and now there is another opportunity for the soldiers to return to the front through the National Guard.
– Why is this happening?
– Both the military and political leadership in Moscow would like to make use of the expertise that the Wagner group has. Therefore, we will very likely see more and more former Wagner soldiers returning to the fighting in Ukraine.
Rosgvardia soldiers photographed in connection with the funeral of former Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in August 2023. Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky / AP / NTB
– They don’t fear another rebellion?
– Yes, the political and military leaders will at the same time ensure that the Wagner soldiers pose as little a threat as possible. In that way, splitting them up makes good sense.
– We always have and always will defend the Russian people, says the new Wagner boss in the video.
The question then is why does he suddenly appear now – in February 2024?
Karen Philippa Larsen again:
– Apparently there have been rumors that he was supposed to be gone. He jokes in the video that he has been on a trip to Mars. He seems upbeat and in a good mood.
Has Prigozhin’s “attempted coup” changed Russia?
VG asks Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen at the Aleksanteri Institute:
– It was certainly an interesting event. Prigozhin probably thought he had more power than he did. Putin took revenge. The whole Wagner system has weakened since then. We also do not know if Prigozhin had any support within the elite in Moscow for his mutiny.
Published:
Published: 13.02.24 at 01:42
Updated: 13.02.24 at 02:14
2024-02-13 00:42:13
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