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The founder of the private military company “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin announced his intention to replace the “Wagnerites” with Chechen units “Akhmat” on May 10 to continue the assault on the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Legally, Prigozhin can really break the contract for the performance of his functions and leave the front. This is not a criminal offense in terms of the laws of the Russian Federation. But to come to an agreement with Kadyrov or with some other unit so that they replace him is already beyond the boundaries of his authority. Such decisions are made by the General Staff. Military analyst Aleksey Getman said this on the air of the FREEDOM TV channel.
Wagner is a private military company. It is very similar in its charter, in what it can do, to an ordinary security firm, the analyst says.
“They enter into an agreement either with a private person or with some state structure and carry out actions, if this is not prohibited by the legislation of a particular country. That is, they simply entered into an agreement. This contract can be terminated at any time. There are such clauses in the PMC agreement. And then they can simply leave the battlefield, even move to another country, to another continent, and already perform their functions there,” Hetman explained.
That is why Prigozhin is so bold in his statements. His actions do not fall under any article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the analyst believes.
“Therefore, we can say that on May 10 we will turn around, leave, because we were offended there or something else. It does not fall under any article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This is a company that was simply hired, signed an agreement. The contract was broken – the company left, ”the guest of the broadcast emphasized.
If any commander of a brigade or battalion of the regular Russian army had said the same thing, Hetman says, there would immediately be criminal liability, and this person would be arrested.
“That’s why Prigozhin says so. Not because he is so brave. He understands that under Russian law he does not bear any criminal responsibility. And you can negotiate with Kadyrov so that he puts his troops there, ”the analyst noted.
He recalled that Prigozhin does not care about the leadership of the Russian Army, as evidenced by his repeated statements. And what he says he can do. It is likely that Prigozhin and Kadyrov agreed, the analyst suggests.
“Agreeing with Kadyrov or with some other unit so that they replace him is beyond the scope of his powers. So this is a little surprising. But Kadyrov, there is such information, wants to please Putin somehow more or gain some ratings in Putin’s eyes. Therefore, it is quite likely that they could agree among themselves that the “Kadyrovites” will replace them. But all the same, this decision is made by the General Staff, and not by Prigozhin, ”added Aleksey Getman.
Earlier, the founder of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that his mercenaries would leave Bakhmut on May 10. The reason is the heavy losses among the “Wagnerites” and the lack of ammunition. He sent a corresponding letter to the RF Ministry of Defense and distributed an open video message.
