Is it finally the end for the the Russian mercenary group? (Picture: AP / Getty Images)
The US Department of Defence has said it believes the Russian mercenary group Wagner is essentially over.
Leader of the force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is believed to have been killed in a plane crash a week ago after he led a mutiny against President Vladimir Putin earlier in the summer.
Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said during a briefing: ‘The Wagner Group is essentially over.
‘The broader issue here is the Russian government which Wagner was working for, in support of operations in Ukraine. And at one point in time Wagner group were the most effective combat forces Russia had on the ground in Ukraine.
‘And they’ve essentially been removed from the battlefield as anything even remotely being significant in terms of combat capability.’
His comments came after the release of an audio message urging mercenaries to find new jobs.
A Wagner leader is heard saying that despite having ‘tens of thousands of trained fighters’ ready to join the war, ‘they’re not letting us [fight]’ due to ‘well-known circumstances’ and are told to make money in other ways.
Independent outlet iStories said it has authenticated the clip as real.
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Leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin is believed to have been killed in a plane crash a week ago (Picture: AP)
Prigozhin’s funeral was said to have taken place behind closed doors earlier this week (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russian president Vladimir Putin did not attend the funeral (Picture: AP)
Prigozhin’s funeral was said to have taken place behind closed doors on the outskirts of his hometown of St Petersburg earlier this week.
A short post on Telegram accompanied by his photo read: ‘The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery.’
Putin did not attend the funeral, with a statement from his spokesperson reading: ‘The president’s presence at the funeral is not intended. We do not possess any information regarding the funeral specifically, the decisions are made by family, and we cannot speak for them.’
Details surrounding the funeral were left deliberately vague, with reports suggesting Putin was fearful of a second uprising from Wagner loyalists.
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Despite suggestions the group has been ‘decapitated’, experts have suggested a shadowy network of commanders may keep Wagner alive.
Alec Bertina, an all-source analyst at the Grey Dynamics private intelligence firm, told Metro.co.uk: ‘There are other Important Wagner Group commanders who are still alive, or at least not confirmed dead.
‘We are talking about senior commander Andrei Troshev and people with callsigns like Ratibor, Zombie and Lotus.
‘I would suggest that while a big piece of Wagner has gone, there are still sufficient elements left to keep the organisation going.’
Ukraine has today sent another barrage of drone attacks to multiple regions, as the number of strikes hitting Russian territory tops 500.
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