Wagner Group 'Mutiny' as Putin's Mercenaries Refuse to Follow Orders
Former Russian commander Igor Girkin has accused Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin of "mutiny" for rejecting an order that would require his notorious paramilitary outfit to sign contracts with Russia's Defense Ministry.
"This is an act of mutiny, if you call a spade a spade," Girkin wrote in a Telegram post on Sunday.
The Wagner Group has played a critical role in Russia's efforts to seize the industrial town of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern region. Throughout the months-long push to take control of Bakhmut and until the Wagner Group withdrew from the city this month, Prigozhin repeatedly accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of intentionally depriving his fighters of ammunition and support.
This picture taken on July 4, 2017 shows Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin prior to a meeting with business leaders held by Russian and Chinese presidents at the Kremlin in Moscow. SERGEI ILNITSKY/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
Shoigu said all voluntary fighters who are fighting for Russia have to sign a formal contract with the Russian Federation by July 1, including the Wagner Group
Prigozhin quickly shut down Shoigu's demand, saying in a statement: "Those orders and decrees from Shoigu, they apply to employees of the Ministry of Defense and military personnel."
"[Private Military Company] Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu," he said on Telegram.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, weighed in on the dispute, saying that Russian authorities refer to Private Military Companies (PMC), such as Wagner, as "volunteer units."
"In reality, Shoigu's order may be a consequence of his conflict with Prigozhin and an attempt to take Wagner operatives under his control," he said.
By 1 July, all Russian volunteer units on the frontline must sign contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry.
However, some volunteers may sign individual contracts either with the units or with the Defence Ministry directly.
It should be recalled that the Russian authorities… pic.twitter.com/HsHywtN407 — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 11, 2023
Although the Kremlin still officially denies any direct connections between the Wagner Group and the state, many believe its campaigns are coordinated with Russia's Defense Ministry.
Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian human rights activist and the head of the Gulagu.net anti-corruption project, a prisoners' rights group, has interviewed former members of the Wagner Group. He is believed to have a vast network of informants inside Russia's prison system, and is currently in exile in France.
He told Newsweek in December that former members say the organization exists as a "branch" of the GRU military intelligence service established under the Russian Defense Ministry, and that Wagner and Russian bases are located next to each other.
"The base of the Wagner Group—it's in Russia's southern Krasnodar region near the village Mol'kino. The land belongs to the Russian army, it's home to its 10th division of special forces, and they gave the land to the Wagner Group," he said.
It's a facade, Osechkin suggested, that the paramilitary group is presented as a private group or an enterprise.
"Members are persons who left the FSB, police, or the Russian army, and they are recruited by an enterprise but, in reality, they entered the Russian army—one part of the Russian army. It's not independent. It's a mask," he said.
Osechkin said equipment and weapons are bought for Wagner Group members by the Russian government, not Prigozhin.
Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.
Source: Newsweek
