Russia Hires First Private Army Amid Wagner Dispute

As tensions simmered with private military company Wagner, Moscow has taken Tschetschenian ruler Kadyrov’s “Achmat” unit as the first-ever private army under contract. Wagner’s head, Prigozhin, criticized Moscow’s military tactics for years.

The Russian Defense Ministry contracted its first-ever private army, the “Achmat” special forces unit headed by Tschetschenian ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, according to a press release. “Achmat” had trained tens of thousands of volunteers for combat, including in the Ukrainian conflict in the past 15 months, said unit commander Apty Alaudinow, who made note of the historical significance of the deal on the Russian Defense Ministry website.

On Friday, Moscow announced that “Achmat” would begin an offensive on Maryinka, a town in Ukraine’s Donbass region. At the weekend, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that he would bring all private armies fighting on Moscow’s side under his command by signing contracts with volunteer groups before July 1.

Wagner Group Refuses to Relinquish Power

The move follows weeks of disputes between Wagner, which was active in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, and the Russian Defense Ministry over jurisdiction. Wagner head Evgeny Prigozhin often complained of being short of arms supplies from Shoigu but said over the weekend that his group would not sign such contracts citing military incompetence on Shoigu’s part. Wagner companies may be denied weapons and ammunition, but “only until the Ministry needs help from us,” Prigozhin said.

Chechen leader Kadyrov, for his part, had criticized the General Staff and Defense Ministry for their tactics and lack of a firm approach. Prigozhin had backed Kadyrov, who had also publicly criticized Wagner and said the group was to blame for Russian losses around Donetsk. Prigozhin and Kadyrov are now leveling accusations at each other with the oligarch saying that the Tschetschenians were not visible on the battlefront. Kadyrov replied that Wagner was at fault for Russian military fatalities in and around Donets