Wagner Group Resumes Recruitment Under Pavel Prigozhin, Integrated into Russian National Guard

Three months after founder Yevgeny Prigozhin's death, the Russian private military company resumes recruitment under new leadership and amidst speculations of integration with the Russian National Guard.

• The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has resumed its recruitment activities three months after the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Pavel Prigozhin, son of the late chief, has now assumed command of the remnants of the company.
• The Wagner Group is reportedly operating as a division of the Russian National Guard or 'Rosgvardiya', a branch dealing with internal security threats and reporting directly to President Vladimir Putin.
• The new recruitment requirements indicate a shift in the group's policies, as it now requires prospective recruits to have no criminal record or history of drug abuse, a reversal from previous practices.
• There are speculations that the Prigozhin’s wealth and resources from the Wagner Group, following Yevgeny Prigozhin's death, would be assumed by the Russian Defense Ministry. However, reports claim the company has been absorbed into the Russian National Guard, and not the Defense Ministry.
• Recruitment was briefly resumed but then suspended again, according to the company's social media accounts. The reasons for the suspension remain unclear.

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