The Wagner private military company continues to recruit new members in Russian cities despite the group's recent uprising, the BBC reported on June 29.
The journalists approached the staff of several of the recruitment centers and were told that "nothing has changed" and that nobody believed the group was being disbanded.
Those who responded specifically said that the new contracts are not being signed with the defense ministry but with the group itself, the BBC wrote.
The Wagner Group's founder launched an armed rebellion against the Russian government on June 23. His mercenaries occupied the city of Rostov and marched to within 200 km of Moscow, only to abruptly end the insurrection less than 24 hours later, on June 24.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said in his June 26 address that Wagner contractors would be allowed either to retire, leave for Belarus, or sign contracts with the defense ministry, suggesting that the military company will not continue to operate in Russia the same way as before.
On the same day, however, various Russian sources reported that a number of Wagner recruitment centers have reopened after the weekend hiatus.
Petro Burkovskyi
(Updated: )
