Putin proposes a high-ranking mercenary as Prigozhin’s replacement at the head of Wagner’s group

President of Russia Vladimir Putinhe suggested Andrej Trošev, high mercenaryas the new leader of Wagner’s group, replacing Yevgeny Prigozhin, who commanded the attempted rebellion of that paramilitary organization at the end of June.

During an interview for a Russian newspaper KommersantPutin has assured that he is considering a number of options for the future of the paramilitary forces, even going so far as to suggest continuing their activities, but now under the leadership of Troshev.

Troshev—known by the nickname Sedoy—is a Retired Russian colonel and founding member and CEO of the Wagner Group. This mercenary has previously been included in the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United Kingdom or Ukraine, among others.

European Union documents show that Troshev was the Wagner Group’s chief of staff in its previous operations in Syria. The United Kingdom also singles him out as the head of an organization that “he repressed the population in Syria”collected by CNN.

Likewise, the Russian president assured that Wagner’s group currently “does not exist” under Russian legislation, although he tasked the government with determining the organization’s legal status.

Prigozhin led an attempted uprising in Russia at the end of June, which was finally suppressed through the mediation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who also offered to welcome the leader of the Wagner Group to the country.

The agreement reached also meant the withdrawal of members of Wagner’s group — who came to advance towards Moscow — with the aim of their possible integration into the army and the withdrawal of charges against those who participated in the rebellion.

Prigozhin, who was rumored to have already been in Belarus, but was located in St. Petersburg a few days later, has not been seen since. The Kremlin confirmed the meeting between leader Wagner and Putin just days after the uprising.

Ukraine confirmed the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus

The Border Guard of Ukraine (DPSU) confirmed this Saturday the presence of fighters of the Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group on Belarusian territory.

Now the DPSU is assessing how many “militants” there are in Belarus, as well as their exact location and claims. Namely, a convoy of about 60 Wagner vehicles was discovered that crossed the border between Russia and Belarus early on Saturday.

DPSU spokesman Andrii Demchenko confirmed Wagner’s presence in Belarus this morning and emphasized that the border guard “continue to monitor the situation” on the northern border.

The Belorussian Hajun Telegram channel, linked to the Belarusian opposition, also reported a series of convoys of Wagner forces entering Belarus from Russia. The convoy was escorted by Belarusian traffic police and included trucks, vans and buses traveling in the direction of Osipovich, some 85 kilometers southeast of the capital Minsk.

Wagner was one of the leaders of the Russian military offensive about Ukraine and its fighters often come from Russian prisons.

Wagner’s forces, led by their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a rebellion against the Kremlin and a march on Moscow, which they stopped about 200 kilometers from the Russian capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered the militants to join the army or go to Ukraine in exchange for not taking action against them.

On Friday, the Belarusian Defense Ministry reported the presence of Wagner, whose members will work as instructors for the Belarusian military, teaching “various military disciplines” near Osipovič.