Prigozhin appeals for public support as Wagner continues to recruit

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Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin called on the Russian people to stand by his paramilitary Wagner on Monday as the group continued to recruit troops for the war in Ukraine, in apparent contradiction to the terms of the armistice with the Kremlin.

Speaking on messaging app Telegram for the second time since leading an aborted rebellion last month, Prigozhin said “we need your support more than ever,” as he thanked supporters inside Russia.

Also on Monday, Wagner was actively seeking recruits for training in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, according to the group’s announcements on Telegram.

The moves come despite an agreement, details of which were revealed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, under which Wagner fighters were supposed to choose between signing contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, returning home or following Prigozhin into exile in Belarus.

However, Prigozhin stopped criticizing the Kremlin directly.

A Wagner recruit contacted on the group’s hotline Monday said several “job openings” were available, including in a “prestigious” stormtrooper unit fighting in a “special military operation area” — a reference to the war in Ukraine. . The recruit said the training would last for three weeks in the village of Molkino in southern Russia before deployment.

Those who wanted to join Wagner were asked to delete all social media accounts because the hiring process had “become more complicated,” the Wagner official said.

Asked about next steps, the recruit said there was no turmoil after the attempted mutiny: “Why do you believe the news? If something was wrong, we wouldn’t have this conversation now.”

He added that the recruit would sign a contract with Wagner, not the Russian Ministry of Defense. “We have nothing to do with them. Have you seen the statements of Evgeny Viktorovich? [Prigozhin]? We will not sign any contracts with them.”

Prigozhin was careful not to explicitly defy the Kremlin in his audio message on Monday, while he defended a “march of justice” toward Moscow last month as an attempt to fight traitors and “mobilize our society”. “Soon you will see our next victories coming to the fore,” he added.

He remained silent about his whereabouts. President Alexander Lukashenko said last week that Prigozhin had traveled to Belarus, following the deal brokered by the Belarusian leader.

Flightradar24 data shows that the warlord’s plane has flown several times since then from Belarus to Moscow and St Petersburg and back again, raising questions about whether Prigozhin was sticking to the terms of the deal.

In a speech to his generals last Tuesday, Lukashenko said Belarus had designated an “abandoned base” on which to deploy Wagner’s forces.

And on Monday evening, a Telegram channel close to Wagner posted several photos of “the construction of Wagner’s base facility in Osipovichi,” a town about 100 kilometers southeast of Minsk, showing several rows of military tents with wooden bunks.

However, no evidence or reports have emerged so far of any mass transfer of militia fighters to Belarus.

Prigozhin’s rival, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has never spoken of the Wagner rebellion before, reappeared on Monday.

“the [coup] Shoigu said at a meeting with army generals that the plans failed because the members of the armed forces remained faithful to their oaths and military duties.

Valery Gerasimov, commander of the Russian invasion force and Prigozhin’s other main opponent, has not been seen in public since the attempted mutiny.

Nor did Army General Sergei Surovkin, the former commander of Ukrainian war operations known to be on good terms with Prigozhin. It is believed that Surovkin is being held because the Kremlin is cracking down on Wagner sympathizers.