
The Wagner mercenary group is no longer significantly involved in Russian military operations in Ukraine, the Pentagon said on Thursday, more than two weeks after the group staged a brief armed insurgency in Russia, Reuters reported.
“At this stage, we do not see the Wagner PMC forces participating to any significant extent in support of the hostilities in Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
Wagner’s fighters fought some of the fiercest and bloodiest battles during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But after the uprising on June 23-24, the fighters were given the opportunity to emigrate, join the regular troops of Russia or return home.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced that PMK “Wagner” is completing the transfer of weapons to the regular armed forces of Russia.
The ministry said Wagner handed over more than 2,000 pieces of equipment, including tanks and missiles, as well as more than 2,500 tons of ammunition.
According to the ministry’s statement, “Wagner” also abandoned battle tanks such as the T-90, T-80 and T-72B3, according to CNN.
The arms surrender followed a deal with the Kremlin in which Wagner and mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin ended their short-lived insurgency last month.
It will be recalled that during the June 23-24 uprising, mercenaries took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and shot down an unspecified number of military helicopters, killing the pilots as they advanced toward Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s leader, said the actions of his men were designed to protest what he called the corruption and incompetence of the Russian military leadership in the conduct of the war in Ukraine.
The uprising was stopped thanks to an agreement made by the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Under the deal, which the Kremlin says was made to prevent bloodshed, the criminal case against Prigozhin and his fighters was dropped.
However, many uncertainties remain regarding the implementation of the agreements, including the whereabouts of Prigozhin. The Kremlin said this week that Putin met with Prigozhin for about three hours on June 29, five days after the uprising.
Flight tracking data showed that the plane bound for Prigozhin left Moscow for Belarus on Tuesday evening, but it was not known if he was on board.
Uncertainty also surrounds the future of Prigozhin’s business empire in Russia and Wagner’s extensive operations in parts of the Middle East and Africa, including Syria, Mali and the Central African Republic.
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Source: Hot News

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