Wagner Group Fires One of Its Five Leaders—a Former Russian Army Colonel

Days after Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed mutiny attempt, the Wagner Group says it has fired one of its top executive leaders, former Russian Army Colonel Andrey Troshev. The announcement was made by a Telegram channel owned by Prigozhin's paramilitary outfit the Wagner Group.

The group published a copy of an order that states that, effective from June 30, Troshev was terminated as head of its League for the Protection of the Interests of Veterans of Local Wars and Military Conflicts. He will be replaced by Russian officer Dmitry Podolsky, the Wagner Group said. Troshev is a retired colonel and was a participant in military conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and Chechnya.

The Wagner Group's other executive leaders include Prigozhin; Dmitry Utkin, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Russian military's special forces and the group's co-founder; Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, a Russian commander known as "the Butcher of Mariupol," who was removed from his position as Russia's deputy defense minister in April 2023; and Col. Konstantin Pikalov, who was previously responsible for the group's operational activities in Africa, and has reportedly since created an offshoot private military company (PMC).

The announcement comes days after Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed uprising, advancing on Moscow as part of a "march of justice" on June 24. The Wagner Group chief demanded the resignation of Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov over their handling of the war in Ukraine. Prigozhin pulled back his fighters after the Kremlin said a deal had been brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to avoid "bloodshed." That agreement will see Prigozhin and his fighters relocate to Belarus, although details of the deal remain unclear.

Russian insider channels on Telegram circulated a document allegedly leaked by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that suggests Troshev informed the Kremlin's top brass about the Wagner Group's planned rebellion, ordering military units to stand down during the mutiny.

The document said Wagner Group convoys would be moving through Russia from June 21 through July 1. This was in accordance with an order issued by Russia's Defense Ministry that all PMCs in Russia sign contracts with the Russian Federation by a July 1 deadline. It asks for the Wagner Group's safe passage through Russia and was allegedly sent to regional authorities.

"The acceptance and transfer of all weapons and equipment by our subdivisions of Wagner PMC will be carried out from June 21, 2023 to July 1, 2023 with an extension until July 5, 2023," the document said.

"The full itinerary of Armament and equipment to be transferred to the relevant structures, next to the transfer storage sites, will be submitted no later than July 1, 2023," it added. "The movement of forces and means of PMC 'Wagner' along the route of movement will take place in compliance with all norms of the laws of the Russian Federation."

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the contents of the document, and has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

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