After Putin approved plans for a vast network of private militias on domestic turf, the leader of the Wagner mercenary company halted recruiting.
The creation of “specialised companies” to “ensure public safety” and defend Russia’s borders is now permitted thanks to new rules that the Kremlin discreetly approved last week.
Officials have not specified what responsibilities specifically will be assigned to mercenaries or why they are required in addition to Russia‘s territorial army and national guard.
However, the Russian president recently made a suggestion that he wants to alter the status of the numerous private military firms that operate in Russia but are not “legally existing.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner who led thousands of his men on a failed mutiny march against Moscow last month, has not publicly replied to the proposals.
However, he seemed to go out of his way in an audio message shared on Telegram to make it clear that Wagner is not beefing up its soldiers in the wake of the incident.
The 62-year-old oligarch acknowledged that the majority of the Wagner forces are currently “on vacation” and that the remainder will train in Belarus or participate in ongoing projects in Africa.
He emphasised that Wagner is moving on to its “next tasks,” which are “becoming more and more clearly drawn,” although he made no mention of any new contracts.
Prigozhin continued, “We do not want to conduct a new recruiting as long as we do not have a shortfall in employees.
However, if you stay in touch with us, we’ll be very thankful, and we’ll start recruiting as soon as the Motherland needs to form a new (extra) group to be able to defend our nation’s interests.
The greatness of Russia “will be upheld” in the execution of any future Wagner missions, he continued.
Wagner’s military skill and Prigozhin’s popularity among his men have provided Putin, who is often ruthless in putting down dissent, with a difficult issue.
The remarks made by Prigozhin might have been an attempt to reassure Putin that he is no longer a danger.
However, they could also be a subliminal attempt to signal to Moscow that he still has the support of both his troops and the Russian people more than the president.
Only a few of his soldiers chose to enlist in the regular Russian army, a choice that was provided to them as part of the agreement to put an end to the coup, according to Prigozhin.
He described the situation as “unfortunate,” although this may have been little more than lip service to avoid upsetting the Kremlin.
According to reports, the mutineers were motivated by a string of military gaffes attributed to inept Russian generals, including rumours of unintentional friendly-fire missile strikes against Wagner outposts close to the front line.
After Russia’s military leaders’ progress in Ukraine stalled, Prigozhin criticised them more and more harshly.
He made the ouster of Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the military staff, and Sergei Shoigu, the minister of defence, the centrepiece of his uprising.
Prigozhin may be implying that Wagner still rules the mercenary world in Russia by publicly stating that Wagner warriors are still averse to fighting for Putin’s generals.
Putin claimed earlier this month that because Russia lacks a legislation governing private military enterprises, Wagner “does not exist” legally. He made this claim to a reporter for the Russian newspaper Kommersant on Thursday.
His ministries and the Duma, the Russian parliament, would discuss new legislation on the subject.
The Duma’s defence committee said on Tuesday that new regulations raising the military service age include “amendments” that “provide for a legal mechanism” on private military firms controlled by state officials.
The action is intended to strengthen Russia’s domestic security without producing another Wagner, claims Karolina Hird, a Russia researcher at the Institute for the Study of War.
According to Ms. Hird, “They’re trying to balance these two competing but extremely crucial security requirements.”
And that’s why it’s necessary to develop a militarised entity similar to Wagner but architecturally extremely different from Wagner, as Wagner’s design was essentially a byproduct of the security threat it ultimately posed to the Russian state.
However, these organisations cannot be so centralised and strong that they develop into their own Wagner organisation and then represent a threat to the Russian state similar to what Wagner did during the uprising. “They need these kinds of entities to fill certain law enforcement and security roles in Russian regions.”
Experts have warned that if the Kremlin tries to enlist additional reserve soldiers or civilians for its invasion, the new armed organisations may also put an end to protests by regular Russian citizens.
