The Kremlin had spent on Wagner alone more than 2 billion euros from public coffers, has no plans for additional mobilization despite weakened Russian positions in Ukraine.

The private military company Wagner of Yevgeny Prigozhin has announced a halt of the mercenary recruitment process in Russia after the failed rebellion on 23-24 June, yet leaving the possibility to resume this activity in the future.

“Due to the temporary non-participation of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) in the special military operation and its relocation to the Republic of Belarus, we are temporarily suspending the operations of the Wagner regional recruitment centers for a period of one month,” reads a message published by Wagner on its Telegram channel on 2 July. 

By Saturday, 1 July, the Wagner fighters remaining in Russia were expected to comply with the terms of an ultimatum from the Russian Defense Ministry, which is trying to incorporate them into the regular army.

Wagner founder and leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to be in exile in neighboring Belarus with a still large force of mercenaries following Alexander Lukashenko’s brokered arrangement that ended the mutiny and spared the Wagners from criminal prosecution.

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In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, the authorities have begun tearing down the numerous huge banners advertising for recruitment in the Wagner.

War, food & propaganda

Aside from being a warlord, Prigozhin was also a media tycoon who became notorious thanks to his Internet Research Agency, which had sponsored secret troll farms in Moscow’s Olgyno district for propaganda and manipulation purposes. Russian press outlets allege that the Kremlin may have already seized Prigozhin’s media empire, giving it to competitors loyal to President Vladimir Putin.

It is not clear whether Prigozhin’s troll farms outside Russia will survive the changes. One of the largest is believed to be located in an African country where the Wagner had operated.

Konkord, a catering company based in Moscow, used to be the main source of income for Prigozhin. Its fate is unknown at present.

President Putin stated at a meeting with the military on 27 June that from May 2022 to May 2023, the government had allocated more than 86 billion rubles to support the Wagner group, plus another 110 billion rubles in premium insurance payouts, according to a Meduza report. 

Thus, the Wagner alone benefited from 2.2 billion euros in governmental funding.

Konkord in turn received 80 billion rubles from the Ministry of Defense for supplying food ratios for the armed forces. The Internet Research Agency, too, was funded by the Russian government in the dozens of billions of rubles.

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It is believed that the Wagner had recruited until early July at many as 50,000 men, of whom at least 20,000 were killed in Ukraine. Since its establishment in 2014, it has lost some 40,000 fighters in the Syrian and Ukrainian wars, and in African conflicts. 

Replacements?

The Wagner’s withdrawal has created a hole in the Russian defenses in Ukraine, weakening in particular Russian positions around the city of Bakhmut in southeast Ukraine. It was captured in May as a result of the longest and bloodiest armed standoff between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Russian state media reported on Monday, citing a senior lawmaker, that there was no need for further mobilization in Russia to replace Wagner fighters who left the battlefield in Ukraine after the mutiny. Putin said the same in June.

"There is no threat at all regarding a drop in the combat potential, both in the mid-term and long-term perspective," Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defense Committee, as quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.

He added, "At the time of the rebellion, there were no Wagner troops at the forefront; they were all in camps. As for replacing them, there is something and someone in the reserve to replace them."

The Wagner also changed its official logo, dumping the SS-styled skull and adopting instead a Soviet star crossed by two swords.