Putin says Wagner boss refused his offer during Kremlin meeting after mutiny
It was revealed just this week that Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin five days after he led an abortive revolt against Russia's military hierarchy.
And in comments that add another layer to the intrigue surrounding the power dynamic between the pair, the Russian president has reportedly disclosed further details about the content of his discussion with the mercenary group leader and around 35 of his troops.
Mr Putin, interviewed by the Russian daily Kommersant, said he made several offers during the meeting - including giving the fighters the opportunity to remain serving together.
Under the offer, the fighters would stay under their current commander, who the newspaper identified only by his call sign of "Grey Hair", but understood to be Andrei "Sedoy" Trochev.
"All of them could have gathered in one place and continued their service," Kommersant quoted the president 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."
As Mr Putin is the army's commander-in-chief, he seemed to be implying that they would remain within the Russian military, although he did not say that explicitly.
"Many of them nodded when I said this," Kommersant quoted Mr Putin as saying.
However, Prigozhin disagreed, it reported.
"Prigozhin... said after listening: 'No, the boys won't agree with such a decision," Kommersant quoted Mr Putin as saying.
"Wagner does not exist," the Russian president told Kommersant. "There is no law on private military organisations. It just doesn't exist."
It comes after a Pentagon spokesperson said they believed Wagner forces were no longer "participating in any significant capacity" to the war in Ukraine.
Analysts have said such a development would harm Russia's efforts in the conflict, given the mercenary fighters' effectiveness compared to that of the country's conventional armed forces.
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Wagner imeshazikwa rasmi....
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-...tuation-12541713?postid=6170832#liveblog-body