'Wagner Chief Rejected Offer To Join Russian Army': Putin's First Reaction After Meeting Prigozhin
In his first remarks after meeting Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin and the group's fighters, Russian President Putin said that Prigozhin rejected the offer to serve in Russia's army.
Day after meeting the head of the rebel mercenary group Wagner, and the commandos, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Yevgeniy Prigozhin rejected an offer to serve as a unit in Russia’s army, reported BBC. In an interview to the Kommersant newspaper, Putin said that many group commanders had backed the plan to be led by a senior Wagner figure during recent talks in Moscow. As per BBC, Putin said that Prigozhin's reply was "the guys do not agree with this decision".
Wagner boss Prigozhin had led a coup against Russian military leadership last month threatening Putin’s power. However, the mutiny was short-lived after Belarus President deal brokered. A few days after the end of the rebellion on June 24, Putin held talks with Prigozhin and his fighters.
BBC mentioned that under the deal that ended the short-lived rebellion, the mercenaries were told they could join the regular Russian army or head to Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
Notably, Wagner has fought some of the bloodiest battles since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, the US military now assesses that the group is no longer "participating in any significant capacity in support of combat operations in Ukraine," stated the BBC report.
In Thursday's interview with Kommersant business daily, President Putin said that 35 Wagner commanders, including Prigozhin, had been present at the Kremlin meeting on 29 June. He said that he had offered them several "employment options", including continued service under the command of a senior Wagner commander known by his nom de guerre Sedoi - Grey Hair.
"Many [Wagner fighters] were nodding when I was saying this...And Prigozhin, who was sitting in front and didn't see all this, said after listening: 'No, the guys do not agree with this decision," the president was quoted as saying by the BBC.
He further added that "Wagner does not exist" when asked whether the group would be preserved as a fighting unit. "There is no law on private military organisations. It just doesn't exist," Putin asserted, as per BBC.
The Russian President suggested that the "difficult issue" of how to legalise Wagner fighters should be discussed in parliament.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, US President Joe Biden said Prigozhin should be careful of poisoning following the mutiny, BBC mentioned in its report.
"God only knows what he's likely to do. We're not even sure where he is and what relationship he has [with Mr Putin]. If I were he, I'd be careful what I ate. I'd keep my eye on my menu," Biden said, as quoted by BBC.
Speaking on the Ukraine war after a summit with Nordic leaders in Helsinki, he said there was no possibility of Putin winning the war in Ukraine.
"He's already lost that war," the president said, quoted BBC.
In a separate development, Belarus' defence ministry said on Friday that Wagner fighters were now acting as military instructors for the country's territorial defence forces, BBC reported. It said that the fighters were training Belarusian forces "in a number of military disciplines" near the town of Osipovichy, about 85km (53 miles) south-east of the capital Minsk.
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