Putin has tasked the former chief of the Wagner Private Military Company, Andrei Troshev, with forming "volunteer units". This was discussed during their meeting on the morning of September 29, as reported by russian media.
"The Kremlin press service published a statement in the morning of September 29 about the meeting between the Russian president and Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-Bek Evkurov and Andrei Troshev, the commander of the Wagner PMC with the call sign 'Sedoy'. According to the transcript, Putin began the meeting with an address to Troshev, whose occupation is not specified in the conversation or on the Kremlin's website", - the statement said.
"Mr Troshev, ...during our last meeting, we talked about your involvement in forming volunteer units capable of performing various combat tasks, primarily, of course, in the area of special military operations. You yourself have been in such a unit for over a year. You know what it's like, how it's done, and you're aware of the issues that need to be addressed in advance for the combat work to proceed in the best and most successful way", - putin said to Troshev.
According to russian media reports, a significant number of former Wagner PMC mercenaries will be incorporated into these volunteer formations.
Meanwhile, putin's press secretary Peskov stated that Troshev is already working in the russian Ministry of Defense.
It was previously reported that the Wagner PMC claimed to continue its "work" in Africa and Belarus.