Putin Makes Eyebrow-Raising Military Appointment

Russian President Vladimir Putin has tapped a former commander of the Wagner Group for a prominent military position three months after the mercenary organization launched a failed uprising against Moscow.

Andrei Troshev, who also served as an aide to late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, will be in charge of volunteer fighter units in Ukraine, according to a statement from the Kremlin. But Jason Jay Smart, an expert on post-Soviet and international politics, told Newsweek the unusual appointment "will turn out badly."

The move may surprise some because of Prigozhin's recent mutiny against Russian military officials. Prigozhin, who was popular among the Russian public for his battlefield achievements in Ukraine, called off the coup the day after it began.

After the Wagner rebellion, Prigozhin was supposedly sent to exile in Belarus, though he continued traveling regularly until he died in a plane crash in Russia on August 23. The Kremlin has denied involvement in the incident after U.S. and Western officials alleged that Putin may have ordered Prigozhin's death.

Putin was joined by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov during a Thursday talk with Troshev to discuss his new role with Russia's military.

"At the last meeting, we talked about you overseeing the formation of volunteer units that can carry out various tasks—first and foremost, of course, in the zone of the special military operation," Putin is quoted as saying to Troshev in the government statement.

"You yourself have been fighting in such a unit for more than a year," Putin continued. "You know what it is, how it is done, you know about the issues that need to be resolved in advance so that the combat work goes in the best and most successful way."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email for further comment.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters that Troshev now works for the Ministry of Defense.

Troshev, who is known by his nom de guerre "Sedoi" or "Gray-haired," fought in Russia's formal military before his time working for Prigozhin, retiring as a colonel. During his military career, he was involved in campaigns in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria, according to The Moscow Times.

In July, Russian investigative outlet Gulagu.net said Troshev had given information during Wagner's June uprising to Russia's Defense Ministry for use against Prigozhin's efforts.

Even so, Smart said he believed the decision to give Troshev the role of overseeing volunteer units reflected poorly on the Russian president.

"Putin's choice of Troshev is incredibly cynical," he said. "Troshev is known to be a drunken lowlife who has never really 'commanded' much but is loyal, as his role was to be a 'lookout' for the Russian Ministry of Defense inside of Wagner."

He added, "Troshev's lack of organizational skills does not matter to Putin, as Wagner's real purpose is to simply generate cash flow for its Moscow benefactors, not win wars."