Russian President Vladimir Putin was on Friday shown meeting one of the most senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group and discussing how best to use volunteer units in the Ukraine war.
The meeting underscored the Kremlins attempt to show that the state had now gained control over the mercenary group after a failed June mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed with other senior commanders in a plane crash in August.
Just days after the Wagners mutiny, Putin offered the mercenaries the opportunity to keep fighting but suggested that commander Andrei Troshev take over from Prigozhin, Russias Kommersant newspaper has reported.
The Kremlin said that Putin had met with Troshev, who is known by his nom de guerre Sedoi “ or grey hair “ and Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who sat closest to Putin, on Thursday night.