Major elements of the mercenary group Wagner have probably joined the command staff of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya), the UK defence ministry reports.
The death of former Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin caused many changes among Wagner group personnel. Now the head of the Wagner unit in the Rosgvardiya is probably his son Pavel Prigozhin.
However, not all Wagner members have joined the Rosgvardiya, some have probably joined another Russian private military company Redut, a 7,000-strong private military company, according to the UK defence ministry.
Since the July 2023 mutiny and takeover of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the Russian state has took more control over the activities of the Wagner group and its former employees.
At the same time, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced that Wagner medics had transferred to the Chechen special forces Akhmat. Kadyrov said in October that the force would be in addition to the 170 fighters who are already part of the Akhmat unit.
The United Kingdom has declared the Wagner Group a terrorist organization.
