WAGNER BOSS PRIGOZHIN BRUSHES OFF RUSSIAN ORDER TO SIGN MILITARY CONTRACTS

Sun 11 June 2023:

Wagner soldiers will not sign any contracts with Russia’s defence ministry after it issued orders for all independent forces to do so by the end of June.

Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu gave the directive on Saturday saying all “volunteer detachments” must sign contracts with his ministry by the end of the month – a step it said would increase the effectiveness of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

Though the ministry did not mention Wagner in its public statement, the Russian media reported it was an attempt by Shoigu to bring the mercenaries to heel after a series of public outbursts by its controversial leader.

“Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, said in response to a request for comment on the matter. The order, he said, did not apply to Wagner.

Prigozhin – who has publicly feuded with defense chiefs – said the move did not apply to Wagner.

“The orders and decrees issued by (Defense Minister Sergei) Shoigu apply to employees of the Ministry of Defense and military personnel. PMC ‘Wagner’ will not sign any contracts with Shoigu,” Prigozhin said in a Telegram post.

Wagner, he said, would “absolutely” pursue the “the interests of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.”

The Wagner chief has previously criticized Russia’s traditional military hierarchy, blaming Russian defense chiefs for “tens of thousands” of casualties and stating that divisions could end in a “revolution.”

Prigozhin and Wagner have played a prominent role in the Ukraine war. In May he said his troops had capture Bakhmut in a costly and largely symbolic gain for Russia.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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