Intention to strengthen control by using good Wagner and bad Wagner ‘division strategy’
Members of Wagner’s unit cross Belarus border after 3 weeks of failed rebellion
It is reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) directly mentioned a ‘new head’ to lead the Wagner Group, a private military company (PMC), in place of Yevgeny Prigozhin, who initiated an armed rebellion. Analysts say that while making it clear that Wagner’s group is under his control, he intends to ‘split’ Prigozin and the group command.
The Russian daily Comersant reported on the 14th that President Putin summoned 35 high-ranking Wagner commanders, including Prigozhin, to the Kremlin on the 29th of last month, five days after the armed rebellion, and named Andrei Troshev, an executive and former colonel of the Wagner Group, as the new leader of the Wagner Group. (local time) reported.
President Putin is said to have presented one of the options for the Wagner group to continue fighting as a single unit under the command of Troshev, who is called ‘Sedoi’, a call sign that means ‘grey hair’. “The mercenaries could come together and continue their service, then nothing would have changed,” Putin told reporters from Kommersant. “When I said that, a lot of people nodded,” he added. However, the media reported that Prigozhin did not agree to President Putin’s proposal, who mentioned a ‘new chief’ to his face, saying, “The mercenaries will oppose it.”
Troshev, nominated by President Putin, is a commander who has experienced wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria, and is one of the founding members of the Wagner Group. According to Reuters, he served in Afghanistan during the former Soviet Union for 10 years and was awarded the Red Star twice in recognition of his service. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he served as a commander in the Special Forces Forces (SOBR) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. After Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war, he was dispatched to the region as a member of the Wagner group to support Bashar al-Assad’s regime. He was awarded Russia’s highest decoration, the Hero’s Medal, in 2016 for his participation in the Syrian civil war, and was also placed on the European Union’s sanctions list. On the EU sanctions list, he is recorded as being born in 1953, but according to Russian media, he was born in 1962.
Experts and foreign media analyzed that President Putin is trying to split Prigozhin and the Wagner group by strengthening his control over the Wagner group. “Putin is sending a signal that he can outlaw the Wagner group at any time,” said Dara Marcicott of the US Think Tank Land Institute. “Putin still needs the Wagner group, but not Prigozhin.” said. CNN said, “The key to the Kremlin’s PR blitz after the failed armed rebellion is that Putin is firmly in control of everything.” It is spreading a new narrative called,” he pointed out. The Associated Press also analyzed, “Putin’s remarks seem to be part of an effort to strengthen control over Wagner’s mercenaries and secure their loyalty while disparaging Prigozhin.”
Meanwhile, it was found that members of the Wagner Group entered Belarus about three weeks after the failed armed rebellion. Ukrainian border guards said that some Wagner mercenary units were seen entering the Belarusian border from Russia on the 15th. The independent monitoring group ‘Belarussky Hajun’, which has been tracking the movements of militants in Belarus, also said that at least 60 trucks and buses carrying mercenaries entered Belarus on the same day.
The day before, the Ministry of National Defense of Belarus released a training video in which some mercenaries from the Wagner Group were participating as instructors, saying that they were conducting military training for their own army. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who mediated between the Wagner group and the Russian government during the armed rebellion, asked the Wagner group to stay in Belarus and train their own forces.
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2023-07-16 12:19:00
