Wagner Group soldiers have been invited to turn cloak and join the Ukrainian side by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC).
The Corps, a far-right paramilitary unit composed of Russian citizens fighting on the Ukrainian side against Vladimir Putin’s invasion, filmed a video in which they addressed members of the paramilitary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin hours after the Russian financier reportedly died in a plane crash.
It hasn’t yet been officially confirmed Mr Prigozhin was on the plane alongside other leading figures of Wagner and whether the Kremlin played a role in the incident.
But the RVC, created in August 2022 and reportedly including Russian emigrants united by their opposition to Putin, are seemingly attributing the alleged death of Mr Prigozhin, former GRU member and Wagner founder Dmitry Utkin, and the other eight people on the aircraft to the Kremlin.
As he claimed the Wagner leadership was “cynically executed”, one member of the Corps told the paramilitary men to join his ranks.
In a video dated August 24 and filmed with infra-red lights, RVC commander Denis Kapustin said, according to the translation provided: “I am addressing the fighters of Wagner PMC for whom the words ‘loyalty’ and ‘honour’ still mean something.
“By all appearances, yesterday, your elder [Prigozhin] founder and commander [Utkin] were cynically executed and you clearly know who is behind it.
“Therefore, you now face a serious choice: Either join the ranks of the Russian Defence Ministry and serve the executioners of your commanders as their chained hands; Or: Take revenge.”
Revenge, he continued, can come by joining the Ukrainian side and fight the troops led by the Russian Ministry of Defence.
He said: “In order to take revenge, you must switch to the side of Ukraine. If you have not committed war crimes, we invite you to join our ranks. Let’s together end this bloody meat grinder SMO [special military operation] and then march on Moscow.”
Referring to the short-lived mutiny led by Mr Prigozhin in late June, which likely contributed to his alleged demise, the Corps member added in the video: “And this time, let’s not stop 200km away from the city, and go to the end.”
It is not known how many troops make up the Russian Volunteer Corps, but Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of the Russian State Duma believes it is made up of around 500 men.
Mr Kasputin has been described by the US-based Anti-Defamation League as a “Russian neo-Nazi who lived in Germany for many years”.
Mr Prigozhin’s name was on the passengers list of the private jet that crashed in the Tver region north of Moscow on Wednesday evening.
While the family hasn’t officially confirmed, Telegram channels close to Wagner Group issued tributed to the mercenaries’ leader and claimed he had been killed by “traitors to Russia”.
A once close ally of Putin, Mr Prigozhin’s fall from grace came as he openly criticised the Kremlin – particularly the military leadership – for the handling of the war against Kyiv.
After months of vitriolic criticism, on June 23 – exactly two months before the plane crash – Mr Prigozhin launched a mutiny, which saw his men briefly taking over the Russian city of Rostov and marching towards Moscow.
