Prigozhin creates another problem for Putin: he refuses to sign the contract that equates his Wagner group with Russian soldiers

Mercenaries are being an important piece of Russia's military actions in Ukraine. The operations of the Wagner group, which played a fundamental role in the capture of Bakhmut, have become especially visible.. But before withdrawing from that industrial city, the founder of Wagner, Yevgeni Prigozhin, returned to his permanent obsession: publicly criticizing the Russian military leadership.

The head of this paramilitary group has accused the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, of intentionally depriving his fighters of ammunition and support.. That and more: it has come to request the Russian Prosecutor's Office to examine the possible crimes committed by high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense, in the framework of the military offensive launched in February 2022 in Ukraine.

To redirect the situation and impose a certain hierarchy, Minister Shoigu has decided that the volunteer detachments sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. It is about Moscow's desire to control private armies. That signature must be before July 1st.

We are receiving 2.5 times more recruits after announcing that they want to end Wagner's existence.”

The demand “is probably part of an effort to restrict Prigozhin's independence,” says the Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).. “Efforts by the Russian Defense Ministry are likely to be aimed at centralizing control of Russian irregular personnel and supplies to respond to the Ukrainian counter-offensive, as well as restricting Prigozhin's independence,” the latest ISW report read.

What does the contract consist of?

On June 10, Shoigu signed the order forcing volunteer units to sign contracts with his ministry.. According to Defense, this will give the volunteer detachments “the necessary legal status and create unified approaches to the organization of comprehensive support and the fulfillment of tasks by them.”

According to the law, volunteers in Russia are equated to the military and are subject to the corresponding benefits and guarantees. So the number of volunteer units, their organization, areas of operation and tasks to be performed by them will be determined by the Defense Ministry, the Russian RBK reports.

I am sure that in the course of the next week all the formations and detachments that make up the Volunteer Corps will sign this contract.”

The formations may include both Russian and military volunteers posted there by the ministry. In August, President Vladimir Putin set the number of army personnel at 2,039,758, of which 1,150,628 were soldiers.

The ISW says that according to the founder of the Wagner group, the Russian Ministry of Defense has also sent them a letter ordering them and other voluntary military formations to inform the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Russian Group of Forces. Specifically, they are asked for their number of forces, reserves and the supplies they have received from the Russian ministry before June 15.

How many have already signed?

Three brigades and four different detachments of the Assault Volunteer Corps have already signed this contract, as announced on Telegram by the Ministry of Defense itself. “I am sure that within the next week all the formations and detachments that make up the Volunteer Corps will sign this contract,” Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev said as a spokesman.

A total of 117,400 people became contract and volunteer soldiers between January and mid-May, the television network details. Minister Shoigu has set himself the goal of increasing the number of military contracts to 521,000 by the end of this year.

Ban Wagner from operating in Ukraine?

But Wagner's has said no, that his fighters will not sign any contract. In his Telegram channel, Prigozhin has assured that his paramilitary group was receiving 2.5 times more recruits after the recent “provocative announcements about the need to end the existence of the private military company Wagner”. According to him, those who are enlisting in Wagner do so to avoid signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense.

The Institute for the Study of War quotes a Wagner-affiliated military blogger (milblogger) as saying that Shoigu's latest decree legalizes the destruction of private military companies. So the Ministry of Defense would use this decree to stop supplying the Wagner group with ammunition, medical assistance and military equipment.

Always according to ISW, that same blogger quotes Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma, who affirms that the Ministry of Defense could prohibit the Wagner group from operating in Ukraine without first having signed the contract in question.

The Chechen militia has signed

This is what the Chechen special unit Ajmat has done, for example, which has covered Wagner's tracks in those places from which they have withdrawn. It has been one of the first volunteer paramilitary groups to sign a service contract with the Russian Defense Ministry.

Chechen fighters have operated in areas behind the front line and have been involved in battles for Mariupol, Severodonetsk and Lisichanak. At the signing ceremony was Chechen militia leader Adam Delimkhanov, who rebuked Wagner's boss for his public criticism.

verbal confrontation

If you don't understand, you can contact us and tell us the place and time, and we'll explain what you don't understand.. You have become a blogger yelling and yelling at the whole world about all the problems.. Stop yelling, yelling and yelling,” Delimkhanov said Monday.

You have become a blogger who shouts and yells at everyone.. Stop yelling, yelling and yelling”

Hours later, the commander of the Wagner group, Dmitry Utkin, answered him.. “PMC 'Wagner' ranks first in the top of private military companies, it is recognized all over the world… We are always ready to talk 'man to man'. Furthermore, we know each other from the first and second Chechen war,” he said.