The inclusion of “Wagnerites” in regular Russian troops threatens the Kremlin with a new rebellion, experts say.
That is becoming clear PMC Wagner will not exist in the former format. Until Saturday, they were a separate army with a full range of weapons, but after an unsuccessful campaign against Moscow, an active demilitarization process began. PMC. but Wagner will act as a separate regulated organization or become a dangerous group, read the story Correspondent.net.
Apologies from Putin
The Russian dictator pardoned the rebels and said that the members PMC tried to use it in the dark against “their brothers in arms.”
“At the same time, we know and already know most of the group’s fighters and commanders Wagner “They are also Russian patriots, dedicated to their people and state,” Putin said.
Despite the fact that Putin called the “Wagnerites” “patriots”, the Russian Defense Ministry began preparations for the transfer of heavy weapons. PMC in regular army units. It should be noted that earlier it was the Russian Ministry of Defense that equipped the militants with all weapons, including tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft missile systems, so now we are talking about actual disarmament Wagner.
At the same time, the FSB announced that they had closed all cases on the fact of an armed rebellion. The official reason for ending the investigation was that the rebels themselves “ceased actions aimed at committing a crime.”
The intelligence of the situation was added by the fact that during the so-called campaign against Moscow, the “Wagnerites” captured Rostov-on-Don, a military airport and other military facilities. They also shot down, according to various sources, four helicopters, a plane and killed about 20 Russian soldiers.
Road to Belarus or contract
The Kremlin offered three options for mercenaries. The first is to extend the service by concluding a contract with the RF Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, the second is to “return to your relatives and friends.” And the third option is to “go to Belarus”. What they will do there remains to be seen.
Now, however, the self-proclaimed president of the country, Alexander Lukashenko, said that the commanders Wagner will transfer combat experience to the Belarusians after the attack on the Ukrainian positions. In particular, according to him, mercenaries can talk about weapons and tactics.
“There’s a lot of talk and talk today:”Wagner, Wagner, Wagner“. People don’t understand that we are also pragmatic about this… If their commanders come to us and help us… Experience. Listen, they are at the front – assault squads. They will tell us what is important today. Here is Putin for the last time he said: counter-battery combat, without which it is impossible. Drones. They went through it, “said Lukashenka.
He added, there is no need to fear the “Wagnerites”.
Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the reserve and military expert Roman Svitan believes that the main task of the “Wagnerites” in Belarus is probably to protect Lukashenka himself and his occupation regime.
“To cover Lukashenka and this occupation regime from the possible actions to eliminate the occupation of Belarus by Kalinovsky’s regime can be Kalinovsky’s brigade or a corps, here things will go as they go. Therefore, probably , this will be the main work that Prigozhin will have In the near future. Moreover, it is a profile work of private companies, I will not say military companies, but private security companies,” explained Svitan .
Besides, Wagner with the support of army weapons, it can carry out some offensive actions in Belarus, the expert added.
It should be noted that today Lukashenko confirmed the arrival of Prigozhin in the country, but objected to the construction of camps for “Wagnerites”, which the media reported the previous day.
A new disturbance is on the horizon
In this regard, military expert Yuri Fedorov believes that after the distribution of “Wagnerites” among the regular troops of the Russian Federation, the rebel mood will still survive.
“Tanks, armored vehicles, artillery will be taken away from them, disbanded as an organization and personnel sent to one or another regular unit. But this means that the influence of Prigozhin and Wagner in the Russian army will only increase,” said Fedorov.
According to him, Prigozhin’s rhetoric is very close to the Russian army, and therefore his ideas will form good ground.
Fedorov’s opinion was also shared by Mikhail Samus, deputy director of the Army Research Center. According to him, the project, the “face” of which is Prigozhin, was created for more than a year and special services, oligarchs and, especially, representatives of the Putin administration are participating in it.
“Therefore, we should expect the continuation of this story,” added the expert.
The American Institute for the Study of War also notes that the Kremlin aims to attract forces Wagner in the Russian Ministry of Defense, but it is not clear how it is planned to integrate the “Wagnerites” into the military structure. The Kremlin could split the Wagner troops operating in Ukraine to reinforce existing military formations, or force them to register with PMCs linked to the Russian Defense Ministry, analysts said.
“The Kremlin may decide to keep the structure Wagner exclusively to support operations in Africa or the Middle East and divide the force group PMC in Ukraine. Situations like this can affect the morale and fighting ability of the forces PMC Wagner“, says the report of the Institute.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.