Russian law does not recognize the existence of private military companies, including ‘Wagner,’ President Vladimir Putin told the newspaper Kommersant on Thursday, when asked about his recent meeting with commanders of the mutinous group.
While attending a technology fair in Moscow, Putin was asked whether ‘Wagner’ will continue operating as a combat formation.
“Well, PMC Wagner does not exist!” Putin told the Kommersant correspondent. “We don’t have a law on private military companies! So it simply doesn’t exist!”
“The group exists, but legally it does not,” the president clarified. “It’s a separate issue, related to legalization, that needs to be taken up by the State Duma and the government. A complicated question.”
The Russian government has long held this position when asked about the group, nominally headed by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. Wagner’s de facto existence was only acknowledged by the Russian military when the group became involved in the fighting in Donbass last year, in particular at Popasnaya and Artyomovsk, also known as Bakhmut.