The Russian Duma will address the legal status of the Wagner Group and other private military companies

Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine

June 13 () –

The chairman of the Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma (Lower House), Andrei Kartapolov, announced Tuesday that the body is preparing a series of proposals to determine the legal status of private military companies (PMCs). ), as is the case of the Wagner Group.

“Much of what concerns the performance of the functions of the PMCs in the zone of the special military operation (a euphemism with which Russia refers to the war in Ukraine) has already been resolved, but the fundamental provisions have yet to be determined,” he said. Kartapolov stated, according to the Interfax agency.

In this sense, the president of the Defense Committee has stressed the importance of detailing not only what these private military companies are, but also what role they play and what place they occupy within Russia’s legal military structure. “I think that in the near future we will decide and give options,” he said.

“We are not talking about legalization, we are talking about forming their legal status in accordance with our legislation,” Kartapolov added, thus complementing previous statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has advocated “aligning” the status of PMCs to the law.

One of the main private military organizations is the Wagner Group, a group of mercenaries led by Yevgueni Prigozhin, a trusted man of President Putin, and who have a leading role in the war in Ukraine, especially in the battle for Bakhmut. They are also present in African conflicts.