The head of Russia’s private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said he was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to start doing so again in the future, Reuters reported.
The future of “Wagner” and Prigozhin remains unclear after his short-lived attempt to rebel against the Russian Ministry of Defense in June (June 24-25 – note ed.), the world agency notes.
Then the Kremlin announced that some of its mercenaries, who had fought in some of the fiercest battles of the war with Ukraine, would go to Belarus.
However, Prigozhin attended a meeting with Vladimir Putin five days after the riot and was photographed last week in St Petersburg, where the Russian president hosted the Russia-Africa summit.
“Today we are defining our next tasks. Undoubtedly, these are tasks that will be carried out in the name of Russia’s greatness,” says the voice in the message, defined as having the hallmarks of Prigogine’s.
The message was distributed in “Grey Zone”, a channel of the “Telegram” application associated with PMC “Wagner”.
After the June events, the Kremlin said that those Wagner fighters who had not taken part in the insurgency would move into the regular Russian army by signing contracts with the defense ministry.
Apparently alluding to this, Prigozhin said in the audio statement that “unfortunately” some of his fighters had moved to other “power structures”, but he said they intended to return to him.
“Until we feel the need for staff, we do not plan to recruit new people,” says Prigozhin, turning to his former mercenaries.
“Regardless, we will be extremely grateful if you stay in touch with us, and the moment the country feels the need to create a new team that will be able to protect the interests of our country, we will certainly start recruiting. “, he adds.
Wagner is preparing to increase its presence in Africa
Since the rebellion, some Wagner fighters have indeed moved to Belarus and started training the local army. In comments published last week, Prigogine said the Wagner company was ready to increase its presence in Africa.
Wagner’s role on that continent, particularly in support of the governments of Mali and the Central African Republic, is a cause for concern in the West. The US accused Prigozhin’s mercenary group of mass atrocities and imposed sanctions, treating it as a criminal organization.
Prigozhin stated that his company complies with the laws of the countries in which it operates. Last week, he welcomed a military coup in the West African nation of Niger and, as it turned out, paved the way for his fighters to impose order there, Reuters notes.
“Wagner” in Belarus. What is the purpose?
The Russian authorities have transferred the private military company “Wagner” to Belarus in order to divert Ukraine’s attention from the main front, said Belarusian independent military analyst Alexander Alesin, quoted by UNIAN.
“I insist that the task of the private military company “Wagner” is not to invade Poland and invade the Baltic states. The task is to maintain tension on the border in order to distract the attention of Poland, Western countries and Ukraine precisely on the Polish-Belarusian border to withdraw their operations from the main front in Ukraine,” he explained to FREE DOM TV.
In addition, the Kremlin is trying to preserve the “Wagner” group after the “March to Moscow”.
“Sending her to Belarus preserves the group for Russia, so she can still fight for influence in African countries.” he added, quoted by BTA.
A number of European countries have expressed concern over the sending of Wagner mercenaries to Belarus. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia said it was necessary to strengthen the protection of their borders.
Warsaw believes that the militants may conduct a terrorist operation in the Suwal corridor, which unites Poland and Lithuania.
2023-07-31 07:55:14
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