Read previewFormer Wagner Group fighters are being absorbed into Russia's national guard and may soon be deployed to Ukraine, according to Western intelligence, as Moscow continues to assume control over the ruthless mercenary organization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in late-December authorized the country's National Guard, also known as Rosgvardia, to create its own volunteer arrangements.
AdvertisementMembers of the Wagner Group prepare to depart from the Southern Military District's headquarters and return to their base in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on June 24, 2023.
Some in the West observed this as an effort to strengthen the national guard.
AdvertisementRussian police and National Guard (Rosgvardia) servicemen patrol Red Square in central Moscow on Oct. 20, 2021.
Persons:
—, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Arkady Budnitsky, Vladimir Putin's, Viktor Zolotov, Rosgvardia, Putin, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Moscow, Yevgeny Prigozhin
Organizations:
Service, Wagner Group, country's National Guard, Volunteer Corps, Business, Southern Military, Anadolu Agency, Getty, National Guard, Institute for, Bakhmut, Kremlin, Africa Corps, Nazi
Locations:
Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Africa, Russia, Rostov, Don, Red, AFP, Africa —