3,000 ex-Wagner fighters to join Akhmat Chechen unit: Kadyrov
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Chechnya's leader confirms that the Russian Defense Ministry assigned the necessary vacancies to accommodate the newcomers in Akhmat, noting that other arrangements and formalities “will be sorted out in the near future,” and action will be soon seen again.
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A portrait of the owner of private military company Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin lays at an informal memorial next to the former 'PMC Wagner Centre' in St. Petersburg, Russia on August 24, 2023. (AP)
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced that 3,000 ex-Wagner PMC fighters will be joining the Akhmat special forces unit from the Chechen Republic, and a renowned Wagner commander with the call sign Ratibor will be joining as well.
Kadyrov took to Telegram to say that the Russian Defense Ministry assigned the necessary vacancies to accommodate the newcomers in Akhmat, noting that other arrangements and formalities “will be sorted out in the near future,” and action will be soon seen again.
He further praised the ex-PMC fighters as experienced and “very effective warriors,” and called their incorporation into Akhmat a “strategically important step toward beefing up the country’s defense capabilities.”
“We are united by a single purpose – to defend the motherland and its interests. I am convinced that this decision will very soon have a considerable impact on the way the special military operation progresses,” Kadyrov stated.
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From Wagner to Akhmat
Back in February, the commander of Akhmat, Apty Alaudinov, relayed to Russian media that three separate units made of former Wagner PMC fighters in his detachment existed.
Part of the Russian National Guard, Akhmat is an internal military force that directly reports to the president and the head of the National Security Council.
Last year, Kadyrov announced his intentions to establish a private military company, that would be considered a competitor with the "Wagner" military group, after his term as president comes to an end.
"There is no doubt that this kind of professional formation is important and necessary, so I seriously plan to compete with our dear brother Yevgeny Prigozhin [founder of Wagner] and create a private military company," Kadyrov released on his Telegram channel, adding that Wagner highlighted "the need for private military companies, and this type of professional formation is undoubtedly important and necessary."
However, the president expressed his contentment with the Wagner Group's successes in special military operations.
The Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin lost his life along with nine others in an airplane crash on August 23 while traveling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg.
Just two months prior to his death, Prigozhin had openly defied Russia's military leadership by initiating a brief mutiny with his contractors, a move that posed a potential risk of escalating into civil conflict.
Observers have noted that this mutiny represented one of the most significant challenges to the current leadership.
