The Kremlin has started to rehabilitate some groups of mercenaries from the Wagner Group after the failed mutiny in June 2023.
A “select group” of former Wagner mercenaries have been issued with official identification documents which will allow them to receive “commensurate bonuses.”
This marks the first time that mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been formally “recognised” in Russia.
British intelligence said, “On 14 November 2023, a select group of Wagner veterans were issued with official veteran identification documents.
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“This marks the first time Wagner personnel have been officially recognised as veterans.”
They added, “The Russian Ministry of Defence has established a new system allowing Wagner veterans to receive veteran identification documents and commensurate bonuses.
“The Wagner Group was recently subsumed into Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardia) command structure.”
British intelligence experts said, “a long period of uncertainty on how the administration would regard Wagner personnel in the wake of the Wagner Group’s mutiny and abortive ‘March for Justice’ in June 2023.”
The killing of Yevgeny Prigozhin in his plane crash in August has caused much concern for many within the Russian government as they have mainly discussed “his achievements during the war” in Ukraine.
Masha Borzunova, a Russian journalist specialising in state propaganda, told the Observer, “Russian propagandists are proving that Prigozhin’s death is beneficial to everyone except Putin.
“They’re discussing every possible version, except the most obvious one.”
Borzunova added, “The fact that Prigozhin was called a ‘traitor’ after the uprising and that Putin promised him an inevitable punishment is hardly being discussed.
“Mainly, they’re discussing his achievements during the war. And how his death is not favourable for the Russian government.”
Opposition politician and art collector Marat Gelman who is also a former advisor to Putin warned Prigozhin’s profile could be elevated over the months to come as Ukraine are “making gains.”
