1 of 1 The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with YunusBek Yevkurov and Andrei Troshev Photo: Government of Russia The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with YunusBek Yevkurov and Andrei Troshev Photo: Government of Russia
The Russian government announced that Andrei Troshev, a former commander of the Wagner Group, has joined the country’s Defense Ministry. The information was published on Friday (29) by the Russian news agency RIA, citing the Kremlin spokesman.
During the meeting, Putin discussed with Troshev the use of volunteer combat units in the war in Ukraine.
“You yourself fought in this unit for more than a year. You know what it is, how it is done, you know the problems that need to be solved in advance so that combat work continues optimally and successfully,” Putin said, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.
The meeting marks another attempt by Putin to show that the Russian government is in control of the Wagner Group, three months after an attempted mutiny by mercenaries against the Defense Ministry.
In addition to Putin and Troshev, Deputy Defense Minister YunusBek Yevkurov also took part in the meeting.
Troshev fought in Russia’s wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star twice for his service in Afghanistan.
In 2016, the soldier was awarded the Hero of Russia medal, considered the country’s highest award, for the capture of Palmyra in Syria against Islamic State militants.
Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash in Russia in August this year. He was sitting with nine other people in a Wagner Group business jet. Everyone died.
After the crash, Russian media reported that Prigozhin and a commander of the paramilitary group attended a meeting with Russian Defense Ministry officials before the plane took off.