Wagner group returns to the battlefield in Ukraine

Nhóm Wagner trở lại chiến trường Ukraine - 1 — Wagner mercenaries withdraw from the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, Russia in June (Photo: Reuters).

According to Gray Zone, a Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner, members of the private military corporation have been redeployed under the command of the Russian National Guard.

“The Wagner group has returned to the combat zone in Ukraine,” Gray Zone reported. “The call-up of Wagner soldiers to the reserve force and the recruitment of additional soldiers will begin soon,” the source added.

The Russian military's Telegram channel also confirmed that Wagner group soldiers fought alongside a Russian military unit around the Avdiivka area in the Donbass region, where Moscow has been making a strong push to gain control.

In June, the Wagner mercenary group moved to an area nearly 200km from the capital Moscow to await orders before their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, called for an end to the uprising.

Mr Prigozhin was later killed when a bomb exploded on his private plane on August 23. There have been reports that the battle-hardened private military conglomerate is undergoing a shake-up under Mr Prigozhin’s son, Pavel.

On October 29, Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, said he had recruited 170 Wagner soldiers for a new battalion. "I welcome the decision of the Wagner soldiers. Their military experience will help them to solve the assigned tasks," Mr. Kadyrov said.

A video posted alongside the leader's Telegram feed shows a Chechen military commander shaking hands with several Wagner soldiers wearing the group's distinctive skull insignia.

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