Wagner chief and founder of the private military company (PMC) Yevgeny Prigozhin declined to sign a contract with the Russian defence ministry which has led to the termination of the PMC’s involvement in the “special military operation” in Ukraine, media reports said quoting State Duma’s Defense Committee chairman Andrey Kartapolov.
Earlier, the Russian defence ministry had announced that all groups and units involved in combat tasks needed to sign a contract with the ministry.
While most complied, Prigozhin chose not to, resulting in the exclusion of PMC Wagner from the ongoing war in Ukraine. As a consequence, funding and supplies for the PMC were withheld, a matter of significant importance to Prigozhin for being able to continue to wage its war on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Kartapolov explained that the attempted mutiny occurred due to a combination of factors. First and foremost was the issue of money, followed by Prigozhin’s unreasonable and excessive ambitions, and finally, an agitated mental state. These factors collectively led to an act of high treason and betrayal against his fellow soldiers, he pointed out.
“Everyone began to carry out this decision, an absolutely correct one. Everyone except Mr Prigozhin,” Kartapolov said, adding, “Then he was told that in this case, PMC Wagner would not take part in the special military operation. In other words, there will be no funding or supplies. Mr. Prigozhin this is an important thing, if not the main one.”
Over the armed revolt by Wagner, Kartapolov said, “It came down to this: in the first place there was money; second, some stupid and exorbitant ambitions; and thirdly, an agitated state of mind. All of this combined evolved into an attempt at high treason and the deception of his comrades-in-arms.”
What was Russian defence ministry’s directive?
On June 10, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a directive aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of volunteer units within the combined group of forces.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu signed an order outlining the procedure for organising the routine activities of these volunteer groups.
According to the directive, volunteers are required to sign contracts with the defence ministry by July 1, thereby obtaining legal status and ensuring standardised approaches to supplies and task execution.
Attempted military mutiny
On the evening of June 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on his Telegram channel that his units had been attacked by Russia’s military leadership.
However, the Russian defence ministry refuted these allegations and termed them false. Some PMC Wagner units who supported Prigozhin started heading towards Rostov-on-Don and Moscow.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) initiated legal proceedings against them for inciting armed mutiny. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, labelled the actions of PMC Wagner as treason.
Negotiations
Following discussions between Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin’s convoys turned back and returned to their field camps. Lukashenko disclosed that he had proposed the use of an abandoned military garrison in Belarus as a field camp for PMC Wagner.
He assured Prigozhin of complete security and pledged to facilitate the relocation of PMC forces to Belarus.
The Kremlin later announced that PMC personnel would not face prosecution for their participation in the mutiny. The FSB terminated the criminal proceedings related to the attempted armed mutiny.
