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After Wagner mutiny, Russia working on bill to regulate private armies: Report
The development comes two days after the Wagner group's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, vowed to overthrow Vladimir Putin and Moscow's military leadership.
The Russian parliament is said to be working on a bill to regulate the activities of private military companies, this two days after Kremlin survived a coup attempt by mercenary Wagner group which called off the rebellion just hundred kilometres away from Moscow.
State-owned news agency Sputnik reported that the country's Duma (the Lower House of the parliament) is working out a bill on the same. The knee-jerk reaction came in response to the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin's military organisation which had overtaken two cities before stopping its advance.
Prigozhin accused the Russian defence ministry of carrying out strikes against the group. The events prompted Putin to address the nation, who vowed to crush the rebellion which according to him was “a stab in the back of Russia.” The rebellion was later halted after a late-night deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Also Read: Prighozin quiet, Putin 'missing' day after Wagner Group drops Russia 'coup'
'Fued between Wagner, defence ministry'
Prigozhin specifically charged defence minister Sergei Shoigu and top army general Valery Gerasimov responsible for the deaths of Wagner fighters. Their feud dating back to a few years, exploded over the ministry's attempt to have the private military contractors sign a contract before July 1. The Wagner boss said Friday that he was ready to find a compromise over the contract but 'they have treacherously cheated us'. He blamed the ministry of launching “rocket strike on Wagner's rear camps” in which “a huge number of group's comrades got killed.”
Prigozhin called off the assault to “avoid bloodshed in Russia" and agreed to go into exile with all charges dropped against him. The world has not heard from the Wagner chief since, who has gone “uncharacteristically quiet.”
