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Putin to restructure Wagner PMC, appoint Sedoi as chief: Reuters

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Reuters
16 Jul 2023 16:43
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Andrei Troshev, a Wagner commander who has fought in Syria as per EU claims, has been named as a probable candidate to head PMC Wagner.

Russian police officers patrol outside the PMC Wagner headquarters in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 24, 2023. (AFP)

Reports indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin will appoint a PMC Wagner commander known as "Sedoi" as the new head of the private military group.

The direct translation of Sedoi means "grey hair" in Russian and is believed to be the alias of Andrei Troshev, a leader of Wagner, Reuters reported, citing European Union and French documents. The agency said France's Treasury referred to the Wagner affiliate under the alias Siedoy.

Troshev has been associated with Dmitry Utkin, a former officer of the GRU military intelligence special forces and a founder of Wagner Group, Reuters reported.

According to the news agency, the EU has previously described him as the "executive director [chief of staff] of the Wagner Group" in a 2021 report where it is also mentioned that Troshev is a founder of Wagner.

The EU claims that Troshev is a leader of Wagner's operations in Syria, saying, "Andrei Troshev is directly involved in the military operations of the Wagner Group in Syria."

"He was particularly involved in the area of Deir al-Zor. As such, he provides a crucial contribution to [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad’s war effort."

Reuters reported that Troshev was born in Leningrad, what is now known as St. Petersburg, on April 5, 1962. However, Western sanctions documents list his date of birth as April 5, 1953.

He was previously deployed in Afghanistan and the North Caucasus under the Russian army and then under the SOBR, a special force unit belonging to the Russian Ministry of Interior, the report further claimed.

Troshev was awarded the Order of the Red Star twice for his service in Afghanistan under the USSR. He was also awarded the Russian Federation's highest medal, Hero of Russia, for liberating Palmyra in Syria from Islamic State terrorists back in 2016.

Prigozhin's failed mutiny prompts Wagner's restructuring

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday the presence of legislation concerning the status of private military companies (PMCs) in Russia will be under consideration.

This comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin argued that the status of PMCs in Russia is difficult, stressing that this matter should be discussed by lawmakers in collaboration with the government.

Speaking to reporters, Peskov stated, "Answering a question from a Kommersant correspondent yesterday, the president said that de jure such a legal entity as PMC Wagner does not exist and did not exist. this is a question for study, consideration of an additional, rather complex issue in general about the legal status of such companies, which should be studied."

Peskov said that "this issue will be under consideration at least" when asked by a reporter if there will be any upcoming legislation on the matter.

The issue emerged when the PMC group Wagner launched an armed mutiny, which eventually failed back on June 23.