Russian mercenary group Wagner now a National Guard unit, recruitment resumed
Russian media reports that the Wagner Group has become a unit of the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya) and has resumed recruitment of militants, particularly in Perm and Novosibirsk.
A representative of the Wagner PMC in Perm said that this new unit of the Rosgvardiya is led by Pavel Prihodko, the son of Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prihodko and his sole heir.
They are recruiting individuals with combat experience, especially those who have previously served in the PMC. According to the source, the payment will range from 80,000 ($861) to 240,000 ($2,582) rubles, depending on the location where these hired soldiers will serve. The contract term is six months.
Representatives of the Novosibirsk office of the Wagner Group, said that recruitment has been ongoing for "two to three days". The source told the Russian media that "criminals and the sick will not be accepted so far".
The initial reports of the Wagner PMC resuming recruitment appeared on October 27-28 in Telegram channels associated with the group, as well as in chats of PMC militants' relatives. Telegram channels linked to the PMC stated that former mercenaries who switched to the Russian Defense Ministry after Prigozhin’s revolt will not be accepted into the group.
According to the Telegram channel " the Important Stories", negotiations regarding the transition of mercenaries to Rosgvardiya were conducted by Pavel Prihodko and Wagner PMC commander Anton (Lotos) Yelizarov.