Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview, said that he had offered the Wagner group a chance to serve in the Russian army. The mercenary group had launched a mutiny against Russia's military leadership last month. Following this, the group's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was in exile briefly in Belarus. Prigozhin returned to Russia on July 6 and reportedly met with Putin.
Putin, when interviewed with a Russian newspaper Kommersant said that serving the army was one of several offers he made at a meeting with approximately three dozen Wagner fighters and their founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, five days after the mutiny.
Putin's offer let the group serve under their current commander. Putin reportedly offered them options for the future. “All of them could have gathered in one place and continued their service,” Kommersant quoted Putin as saying.
“And nothing would have changed. They would have been led by the same person who had been their real commander all that time,” Putin added. According to Kommersant, Prigozhin disagreed with Putin. He also said there is no possibility of the group remaining in its current form.
The Wagner group played an important role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They especially played a crucial role in capturing the city of Bakhmut in May.
In the meantime, a retired US military commander has claimed that Prigozhin is likely dead or jailed. General Robert Abrams, who served as the commander of US Forces Korea also said that Prigozhin's meeting with Putin following the mutiny of the group was probably fake. “I think he’ll either be put in hiding, or sent to prison, or dealt with some other way, but I doubt we’ll ever see him again,” Abrams told ABC News.
