Wagner Group Defies Putin by Continuing to Operate in Russia

The Wagner Group still appears to be recruiting people to fight in Ukraine despite being denounced as "traitors" by Vladimir Putin for their mutiny.

The mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin advanced on Moscow on Saturday after taking control of Russia's southern military command headquarters.

Prigozhin demanded the removal of Russia's military leadership but called off the rebellion following a deal that saw him exiled to Belarus. At the start of the mutiny Wagner recruitment centers started closing in Russian cities, billboards were taken down and the group was blocked from Russian online social media and social networking service VKontakte.

But it appears to be business as usual again for the group, with state news agency Tass reporting the recruitment of mercenaries had resumed at Wagner PMC centers in the cities of Tyumen and Novosibirsk.

Matt Dimmick, a former National Security Council director for Russia and Eastern Europe told Newsweek that what Wagner does now "depends on the kind of movement restrictions that are on them and how tightly that leash is wrapped around their necks."

A journalist with the independent Russian news outlet Sirena posted a video that showed him attempting to join the private military company.

Posing as a would-be recruit, Dmitry Nizovtsev said he wanted to sign up. He was told to send his personal details through WhatsApp and that he would be sent further information.

After being informed that he would be reimbursed for travel expenses, Nizovtsev asked the recruiter about Putin's comments that Wagner was "illegal" and "a group of traitors."

"If we were traitors, we would not be in Russia," was the reply. The journalist also inquired about whether recruits would be required to go to Belarus, where Prigozhin has been exiled and where camps are reportedly being built for Wagner members.

He was told that the information on television about Wagner "can be misleading" and that "our base is in the town of Molkino in the Krasnodar oblast."

Another independent Russian outlet, Agentsvo said one of its journalists was offered interviews with Wagner in Murmansk, Smolensk and Rostov-on-Don. A six-month contract was on offer pending a physical examination and three weeks of training.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Wagner would continue to operate in Africa and officials and experts acknowledge the group will continue to play a pivotal role in achieving the Kremlin's policy aims abroad.

"They're not going to be getting funding like they did before, unless it's for some very specific purposes, so they have to find some sources of income," said Dimmick. "If they're not going to be paid by the Russian government, they're probably going to have to go elsewhere."

Where is Prigozhin?

There are conflicting accounts of Prigozhin's whereabouts. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who reportedly brokered the deal to end the rebellion, said on Wednesday that the Wagner chief had arrived in Belarus.

But flight radar data shared on social media suggested that two of his jets had flown from Minsk to St. Petersburg, where local news outlet Fontanka said someone resembling the Wagner founder had been spotted in Wagner's offices in the city.

The fallout from Prigozhin's mutiny continues amid speculation over how it could have been carried out without the knowledge of top figures in the military.

Former British intelligence officer Philip Ingram said that the Wagner chief likely had help from people in the Southern Military Headquarters in Rostov.

"His access to road transport with integrated air defense was well planned and there is no way such a force could be concentrated without people knowing," he told Newsweek.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had "nothing to add" when asked about the reported arrest of the former top commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, who is known to have had close ties to Prigozhin.

"It is highly probable that General Surovikin was somehow involved," said Ingram. "He won't be the last to be interrogated as Putin, through (defense minister Sergei) Shoigu, tries to clear out all dissenters, taking this as an opportunity for a wider purge of non-conformist military commanders."