MOSCOW.- The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, Yevgueni Prigozhin, reported this morning that his forces shot down a Russian Army helicopter.
“Right now a helicopter opened fire on a column of civilians, it was shot down by Wagner’s troops,” he said in an audio posted on his Telegram channel.
In addition, he reiterated today the refusal of his fighters to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense after the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, insisted on that need to give legal coverage to social benefits for all those who fight in Ukraine.
“When the homeland was in trouble, when Wagner’s help was needed and we all went out to defend it, the president promised us all the social guarantees,” he said on his Telegram channel.
“I have 20,000 dead, should they also sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense?”Prigozhin wondered sneeringly.
He stressed that, when the mercenaries began to participate in the war, “nobody said that we would be obliged to sign agreements with the Ministry of Defense.”
Prigozhin, who already said over the weekend that he would not sign an agreement to subordinate himself to Defense, reiterated that “none of Wagner’s fighters is ready to go down the path of shame again. And so no one will sign contracts.
He stressed that, in terms of social guarantees, the Lower House and Putin “will find a compromise solution” for the Wagners.
“As far as I know, the Ministry of Defense is now closing contracts with everyone who wants to continue serving in the zone of special military operations. This is the only way to guarantee social guarantees.” Putin said the day before during a meeting with military correspondents and bloggers.
The Wagner Group is not legal in Russia, but the Kremlin allows it to operate outside of Russian territory.
The chairman of the Defense Committee of the Duma (Lower House), Andrei Kartapolov, stated yesterday that proposals are being prepared to determine the legal status of the private military company.
He explained that “we are not talking about legalization, we are talking about determining its legal form in accordance with our legislation.”
