New Putin order: Wagner fighters must swear allegiance to Russia

(Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered fighters of the mercenary group Wagner to swear allegiance to the Russian state, following the crash of a plane in which the organization's head Yevgeny Prigozhin was likely killed.

Putin signed the order, which took immediate effect on Friday, after the Kremlin said Western claims that Prigozhin was killed on the orders of the Russian leadership were an "absolute lie".

Preliminary Information

The Kremlin refused to confirm his death with certainty, saying that the results of tests needed to be awaited.

The Russian Aviation Agency announced that Prigozhin was one of the passengers on a private jet that crashed on Wednesday evening northeast of Moscow, with no survivors, exactly two months after the Wagner chief launched a failed armed rebellion against the army chiefs.

Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on Thursday, and spoke of Prigozhin in the past tense.

He cited "preliminary information" indicating that Prigozhin and his high-ranking Wagner associates were killed, and while he praised Prigozhin, he also pointed out that he had made some "serious mistakes".

The introduction of mandatory oath-taking for members of Wagner and other private military companies represents a clear step towards bringing such groups under stricter state control.

The order, published on the Kremlin's website, obliges any person acting on behalf of the army or assisting in what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine to officially swear allegiance to Russia.

The words of the oath contain a sentence by which those who swear promise to strictly follow the orders of commanders and leaders, which is described in the order as a step towards creating spiritual and moral foundations for the defense of Russia.

Western politicians and commentators have stated, without providing evidence, that Putin ordered Prigozhin's assassination to punish him for launching an armed rebellion on June 23 and 24 against the military leadership, which was also the biggest challenge to Putin since he came to power in 1999.

Open Investigation

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the accusation, like many others, was untrue, reports Index.

"There is a lot of speculation now regarding the crash of this plane and the tragic death of its passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. Of course, in the West, all this speculation is presented from a familiar perspective.

All of this is an absolute lie, and here, when reporting on this issue, it is necessary to rely on facts. There are still not many facts. They need to be established during the investigation," Peskov told reporters.

Russian investigators have launched an investigation into the incident, but have not yet stated what they suspect caused the sudden crash. They have also not officially confirmed the identities of the 10 bodies found.

Peskov said yesterday when asked if the Kremlin had received official information about Prigozhin's death:

"If you listened carefully to the statement of the Russian president, he said that all necessary tests, including genetic ones, will be carried out. Official results will be published as soon as they are ready for publication".

Peskov, who pointed out that Putin had not met with Prigozhin recently, also said that it is unknown how long the investigation and testing will take.

Therefore, it is impossible to discuss whether Putin will attend Prigozhin's funeral, Peskov replied to a question on the topic.

"There is still no date for the funeral, it is impossible to even discuss it. All I can say is that the president currently has a rather full schedule," Peskov added.

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