The "Wagner" paramilitary group no longer exists, at least from a legal point of view, President Vladimir Putin told the Russian newspaper "Kommersant", in the first statement after his meeting in the Kremlin with the founder of the mercenary militia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a few days after the uprising. of June 24.
"Wagner no longer exists!" Putin told a Kommersant reporter when asked if the group would remain a combat unit.
"We have no law for private military organizations! They simply do not exist. There is a group, but legally it does not exist!", Putin emphasized.
"It is a separate issue that must be discussed by the Duma, the state and the government. It is not a simple matter", Putin explained, referring to a possible legal recognition of the "Wagner" group.
Further, Putin has stated that Yevgeny Prigozhin has rejected his offer that the Wagner troops continue to fight in Ukraine under the direction of their commander Andrey Troshev. This is the proposal that Putin revealed during the interview for "Kommersant", which he made to the founder of the mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin and a group of his fighters during the conversation in the Kremlin. Putin explained that "many of them nodded", but it was Prigozhin who blocked everything. "No, the boys will not agree with such a decision", he seems to have said.