The son of Yevgeny Prigozhin has reportedly taken over “command” of the Wagner Group, a leading US think tank has said, citing a prominent Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel.
Pavel Prigozhin, 25, is negotiating with Rosgvardia, the Russian National Guard, over Wagner rejoining combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
The Wagner Group’s main combat elements are split across several countries, including Belarus, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Mali, and there has been no clear unified leader since the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
It comes after some Wagner group elements reacted negatively to Vladimir Putin’s embrace of former Wagner Group commander and current Ministry of Defense (MoD) employee Andrey Troshev.
The ISW said it indicates that “some Wagner personnel are interested in rallying around a Prigozhin-linked alternative to the Kremlin- and MoD-aligned Troshev.”
Meanwhile, Dozens of Russians from family to former fighters have held memorial services for Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to mark 40 days since his death, hailing him as a hero of the people.
Prigozhin was killed when his private jet crashed on its way from Moscow to St Petersburg on August 23, two months after he led a failed mutiny on Moscow.
Two other top Wagner commanders, Prigozhin’s four bodyguards and the plane’s three crew were also killed in the still-unexplained crash.
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