Ex-Wagner fighters are currently receiving training from special forces under Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Reuters reported on Nov. 6.
Kadyrov posted a message on Telegram that a larger group of ex-Wagner troops were undergoing intensive training with his Akhmat special forces.
"I am glad that today the ranks of the famous [Akhmat] unit have been joined by fighters who have excellent combat experience and have proven themselves as brave and efficient warriors," Kadyrov said. "I am confident that in the upcoming battles they will fully live up to their reputation."
The Chechen dictator also published what appears to be a music video showing soldiers dressed in combat, including some in Wagner insignia and masks over their faces.
The message did not specify the number of Wagner fighters involved in the training.
Earlier this week, various Russian media outlets reported that the Wagner Group had allegedly resumed recruiting in the Russian cities of Perm and Novosibirsk as a unit of Rosgvardia, Russia's National Guard. The unit is now possibly headed by Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the deceased founder of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The Kyiv Independent cannot currently verify the information.
The fate of Russia's most notorious mercenary group remained uncertain following Wagner's rebellion against the Kremlin in June and a plane crash that killed Prigozhin and several other senior commanders two months later.
Some Wagner fighters were allowed to leave for Belarus or Africa, while others were offered contracts under the Russian Defense Ministry. Rosgvardia is not under the ministry's jurisdiction and answers directly to the presidential office.
Daria Shulzhenko
