Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has met with the former commander of the Wagner PMC, Andrei Troshev. The Kremlin's press service published a report on September 29.
"At our last meeting, we talked about the fact that you will be forming volunteer units that can perform various combat missions, primarily, of course, in the area of the special military operation. You yourself fought in such a unit for more than a year. You know what it is, how it is done, you know about the issues that need to be resolved in advance so that the combat work goes as well and as successfully as possible," Putin said.
Andrei Troshev is a retired police colonel and former chief of staff of the Wagner PMC, with the call sign "Gray." He took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya, served in the OMON and SOBR, and in Wagner was the executive director and chief of staff during the fighting in Syria – at least that's how he is described in the EU sanctions letter.
In 2021, the EU imposed sanctions on him.
Troshev had previously sided with the Russian Defense Ministry to run the department's private military company.
After the mutiny of the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andrei Troshev, along with other Wagner members, participated in a meeting with Putin. At this meeting, Kommersant wrote, Putin offered representatives of the Wagner PMC several options for employment, including under Troshev's leadership.
Earlier, Wagner mercenaries were again spotted near Bakhmut. After Prigozhin's mutiny, Wagner units were transferred to Belarus.
Background. Earlier, CNN reported that Putin had found a new commander for Wagner mercenaries.