Russian President Vladimir Putin said he offered Wagner’s fighters to act under the official command of another person, but their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin rejected the offer after the failed uprising, Reuters and Agerpres reported on Friday.

In an interview published on Thursday evening by the Russian publication “Kommersant”, the Russian president gave details of his meeting on June 29 in the Kremlin with Prigozhin and the command of the Wagner group.

Wagner’s soldiers “could gather there and continue the activation.” Nothing would have changed for them, they would be led by the same person who was their real commander all this time,” Putin said.

“Kommersant” clarifies that it is about commander Wagner with the call sign “Sedoi” (“Ash”), who, according to Putin, led a paramilitary formation on the Ukrainian front for 16 months. “Military special operation”.

“Sedoi” is a decorated veteran of the Russian war in Afghanistan and Chechnya. He is from St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, and was photographed with the president, Reuters reported. Putin said that during this meeting on June 29, he discussed “possible solutions” for the Wagner Group to continue the fight for Russia and gave a “high assessment” of the events of June 24.

Putin claims that Prigozhin contradicted his own commander

However, it is worth recalling that during the searches conducted at Prigozhin’s house, the Russian prosecutor’s office showed that, at least in the documents, the commander of Wagner’s group is Dmytro Utkin, who since 2014 managed the creation and organization of the paramilitary organization with money provided by “Putin’s cook.”

It is possible, however, that Vladimir Putin wanted to downplay the merits of Utkin, who is considered a faithful confidant of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“Many (Commander of PMK “Wagner”) nodded their heads when I said that. But (Yugen) Prigozhin, who was sitting in front, did not see and, after listening, said: “No, the guys do not agree with such a decision,” Putin said in an interview with “Kommersant”.

His words do not appear in the official transcript of the Kremlin’s comments that Putin made on Thursday to Kommersant journalist Andrii Kolesnikov and a journalist from state television.

Prigozhin did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. In fact, Prigozhin has not appeared in public since he left Rostov in southern Russia on June 24.

Vladimir Putin stated that “Wagner’s mercenary group” does not exist

In an interview with Kommersant, Putin spoke about the lack of official legal status of the Wagner group in Russia, where private military companies are prohibited by law.

“But the “Wagner” PMK does not exist,” Putin replied to “Kommersant”, answering the question whether the group will be preserved as a combat unit. “There is no law on private military organizations. It simply doesn’t exist!” he exclaimed, Reuters reports.

“Wagner’s group (…) does not exist from a legal point of view! Another issue is related to its actual legalization. The issue must be resolved in the State Duma (lower house of the parliament), in the government,” Putin said.

Wagner’s uprising shook the Russian government against the background of the conflict in Ukraine. Within a few hours, the fighters of this group occupied the headquarters of the Russian army in Rostov-on-Don (southwest) and marched hundreds of kilometers towards Moscow.

The uprising ended on the evening of June 24 with an agreement in which Prigozhin left for Belarus and his fighters could join him, join the regular Russian army, or return to civilian life.

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