Pavel Prigozhin (25), son of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, now probably leads what remains of the Wagner group mercenary army.
It reports UK Military Intelligence in an Update.
The British intelligence service also reports that the Wagner group will now be subordinate to Rosgvardija, Russia’s national guard, which is directly subordinate to President Vladimir Putin.
GRENADE FRAGMENTS: Putin says grenade fragments were found in the bodies of those killed in the plane crash that killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Video: AP. Reporter: Vegard Krüger / Dagbladet TV. view more
Into “Putin’s Army”
Already in October, the American think tank reported Institute for the Study of War (ISW) that Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son was ready to take over the leadership of the Wagner group.
ISW also reported that Pavel Prigozhin was in negotiations with the Rosgvardija, often called “Putin’s private army”, to once again send mercenaries from the Wagner group to the front in Ukraine.
PAVEL PRIGOZIN: Son of Yevgeny Prigozin. Photo: Private Show more
Rosgvardija is led by Viktor Zolotov, Putin’s former bodyguard, and in theory should only operate in Russia.
Towards the end of October, “large parts” of the Wagner group must have been placed under the Rosgvardija’s command structure as a separate department, writes the British intelligence service.
“The Russian state now exercises more direct control over the activities of the Wagner group”, is the conclusion.
AIRCRAFT CONTROL: Several state-run Russian media report that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is said to have died in a plane crash north of Moscow. Reporter: Mia Egenes Bratlie. Commentator: Morten Strand Show more
Recruiting again
The Wagner group must also have resumed active recruitment, claims the British intelligence service.
This was also claimed by the group itself at the end of October. However, the Wagner Group has stopped recruiting from Russian prisons, according to a representative of the company.
The son (25) will take over
– We recruit those who already have combat experience, including those who have already worked for similar companies. The only difference is that we now only recruit civilians, and not inmates, said a representative of the Wagner Group to the Russian news website 59.ru.
A not inconsiderable proportion of mercenaries are said to have left Wagner in favor of other Russian mercenary companies, including Redut, which has also fought in Ukraine for Russia.
Ten people are said to have died after a private plane crashed in Russia. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is among the dead, state Russian media write. Reporter: Mia Engenes Bratlie. Video: Dagbladet TV / NTB / Twitter / Telegram Show more
Armed rebellion
After a long and heated conflict between the Wagner Group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Russia’s defense leadership, the mercenary army went into armed rebellion against the Russian authorities in June this year.
The Wagner group themselves laid down their weapons before reaching Moscow, and reached an agreement with the Russian authorities:
Among other things, Prigozhin agreed to move the mercenary army to Belarus in exchange for impunity.
– Found fragments of hand grenades
In August, however, the entire leadership of the Wagner group died in a plane crash in Russia, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. It is believed that the crash was an assassination carried out by Putin’s power apparatus.
Putin himself claims that the plane may have crashed after those on board got drunk and accidentally detonated one or more hand grenades.
2023-11-14 18:02:51
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