Pavel Prigozhin, 25, is negotiating with Rosgvardia, the Russian National Guard, over Wagner rejoining combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
The Wagner Group’s main combat elements are split across several countries, including Belarus, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Mali, and there has been no clear unified leader since the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, The Telegraph reported.
Prigozhin’s death came two months after he staged a brief mutiny, marching his Wagner Private Military Company forces toward Moscow with the stated goal of replacing top military commanders.
The Russian president branded the man a traitor at the time but agreed to a deal in the interest of avoiding major bloodshed. This allowed Prigozhin and his loyalists to leave Russia. He has repeatedly stressed that most Wagner members were patriots, whose service on the battlefield made them heroes.
Some Western media have claimed that Moscow may have been behind Prigozhin’s plane crash. The Kremlin has dismissed this “speculation” as “a total lie.” Putin has promised a thorough investigation of the incident.
MP/PR
