Putin Meets with Former Wagner Commander, Discusses Volunteer Units in Ukraine Conflict
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin was seen in a meeting on Friday with one of the senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group, discussing strategies for utilizing “volunteer units” in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.This meeting underscores the Kremlin’s efforts to demonstrate that the state has gained control over the mercenary group following a failed mutiny led by Wagner’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who, along with other senior commanders, was killed in a plane crash in August.Reportedly, just days after the mutiny within Wagner, Putin offered the mercenaries the option to continue fighting but suggested that Commander Andrei Troshev, known by his nom de guerre “Sedoi” (meaning “grey hair”), replace Prigozhin. This information was reported by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.
According to the Kremlin, Putin met with Troshev and Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who sat closest to Putin during the meeting, on Thursday night.Addressing Troshev, Putin mentioned their discussions about “volunteer units that can perform various combat tasks, primarily in the zone of the special military operation.”
Putin acknowledged Troshev’s firsthand experience, saying, “You yourself have been fighting in such a unit for more than a year. You know what it is, how it is done, you know about the issues that need to be resolved in advance so that the combat work goes in the best and most successful way.”
Putin also expressed his interest in discussing social support for those involved in the conflict. The meeting was held at the Kremlin and was televised on state television.
Troshev was shown listening attentively to Putin, leaning forward and nodding, with a pencil in hand, although his remarks were not broadcasted.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Troshev now works at the defense ministry.
The fate of Wagner, one of the world’s most battle-hardened mercenary forces, has been uncertain since the failed mutiny led by Prigozhin on June 23 and his subsequent death on August 23. This mutiny is widely seen as the most significant internal challenge to Putin and the Russian state in decades. Prigozhin asserted that the mutiny was not aimed at toppling Putin but rather at settling scores with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Following Prigozhin’s demise, Putin ordered Wagner fighters to pledge allegiance to the Russian state, a step Prigozhin had opposed.
Putin’s recent meeting suggests that what remains of Wagner may now be overseen by Troshev and Yevkurov, who has visited several countries where the mercenaries operate in recent months. Troshev, a decorated veteran of Russia’s wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya and a former commander in the SOBR interior ministry rapid reaction force, hails from St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, and has been photographed with the president. He was awarded Russia’s highest medal, Hero of Russia, in 2016 for his role in the Palmyra storming in Syria against Daesh militants.