WAGNER TROOPS WILL NO LONGER FIGHT IN UKRAINE: OFFICIAL

Thu 29 June 2023:

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been told that his mercenary forces would no longer fight in Ukraine after he refused to sign contracts to bring them under the Russian defence ministry, a senior lawmaker said.

Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, who chairs the lower house of parliament’s defence committee, said the trigger for Saturday’s mutiny was Prigozhin’s disagreement with a demand by the defence ministry that his group sign contracts.

“As you know, a few days before the attempted mutiny, the defence ministry said that all formations performing combat tasks must sign contracts with the defence ministry,” said Kartapolov.

“Everyone started to implement this decision … everyone except Mr Prigozhin.”

Kartapolov added that after Prigozhin’s refusal to sign the contracts, he had been told that his mercenaries would no longer fight in Ukraine and therefore would not receive state money.

The Kremlin declines to answer questions about General Surovikin

The Kremlin declined to answer questions about Russian General Sergey Surovikin, whose status and location are unknown since the Wagner Group’s aborted rebellion.

Asked by reporters if the Kremlin could clarify the situation with Surovikin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “No, unfortunately not.

“So I recommend that you contact the defence ministry; this is its prerogative.”

When a reporter asked if Putin still continued to trust Surovikin, Peskov said: “He is the supreme commander-in-chief and he works with the defence minister and with the chief of the General Staff.”

Nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syrian conflict, Surovikin has been absent from view since Saturday, when he appeared in a video appealing to the Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent