The British military intelligence has confirmed that hundreds of former members of the Russian Wagner Group have joined the fight as individuals and in small groups with pro-Russian units in Ukraine. Reports indicate that former Wagner fighters have returned to positions around Bakhmut, where they experienced combat.
On Friday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin requested a former assistant to Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin to train volunteers to fight in Ukraine. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, stated to RIA Novosti that Andrei Troshev, a former leader of the Wagner private military group, is currently working for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Kremlin also mentioned that Troshev discussed with the Russian president ways to utilize volunteer combat units in the Ukraine war.
Since the death of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on August 23 when a private plane he was on crashed under unclear circumstances, the Kremlin has sought to subject the group to stricter state control. Wagner fighters played a significant role in Russia's capture of the eastern city of Bakhmut in May, following one of the longest and fiercest battles in the ongoing 19-month Moscow war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive has been ongoing for several months but is progressing slowly, hampered by Russian fortified defensive plans consisting of trench networks and mines. An Ukrainian army spokesperson indicated on Wednesday that several hundred fighters from the Russian Wagner Group have returned to eastern Ukraine to fight, but their impact on the battlefield is minimal.
Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesperson for the eastern military command, noted, "We have detected the presence of several hundred Wagner fighters at most." He added that Wagner fighters are scattered in various locations, are not part of a single unit, and have had little to no impact.
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, stated that Wagner no longer exists, adding that "some have gone to Africa, some are scattered across Russia, and some have contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense and are fighting in the Bakhmut sector." He further mentioned that reports of their return aim to "distract attention from news about Ukraine reclaiming two villages near Bakhmut."
