Russian President Vladimir Putin Reveals State’s $1 Billion Funding for Wagner Mercenary Group

MOSCOW, KOMPAS.com – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (27/6/2023) disclosed the amount of money that the state has poured into paying the Wagner mercenary group.

The group that last week failed to carry out the mutiny was paid about 1 billion US dollars (Rp. 15 trillion.)

“The state pays the Wagner Group 86.262 billion rubles (Rp 15 trillion) in salaries of members and incentive gifts from May 2022 to May 2023,” Putin said, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Also read: No longer using Wagner, Russia is said to need an additional 7 million troops

This figure was disclosed by Putin while addressing Defense Ministry officials, in a televised address at the start of the meeting.

Russia has previously denied the existence of Wagner, a mercenary who defends Moscow’s interests in several African and Middle Eastern countries.

However, since his soldiers were one of the mainstays of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — also a former Kremlin catering chef — rose to prominence.

On Saturday (24/6/2023), Wagner launched a rebellion by seizing the Russian army headquarters and deploying troops towards Moscow.

Putin denounced this as treason and ordered Wagner disarmed, then have members join the regular armed forces or be exiled to Belarus.

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By disclosing the official fee for Wagner, Putin is now confirming that the mercenary is acting for the state.

“The content of the entire Wagner group is fully provided by the state, from the Ministry of Defense, from the state budget. We fully fund this group,” Putin added.

His portrayal of Wagner’s troops as traitors is a reversal of the previous situation, when Russia heroically honored him as part of the war in Ukraine.

Even when criticizing the Wagner uprising, Putin did not necessarily insult him. “Because they really showed courage and heroism,” he said.

Also read: Wagner Vs Russia Conflict: What Will Putin Do Next?

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2023-06-27 16:38:00
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