In 2016, Troshev was awarded Russia’s highest medal, Hero of Russia.
New Delhi:
Amid uncertainty over the future of the Wagner group after its failed mutiny in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has proposed that a senior mercenary named Andrei Troshev command them instead of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Five days after the Wagner Group’s failed mutiny at the end of June, Putin met with Prigozhin and a number of senior Wagner fighters, as per the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
Putin reportedly offered the Wagner mercenaries several options on how to go about their business, including the possibility of continuing to fight under Troshev.
Who Is Andrei Troshev?
According to European Union sanctions documents, Andrei Troshev goes by the callsign “Sedoi” or “Grey Hair”, and is a retired colonel who is one of the founding members and the executive director of the Wagner group.
Born in April 1953 in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), in the former Soviet Union, the European Union sanctions documents detail Troshev’s role as the “chief of staff” of the Wagner Group’s operations in Syria, where the group supported the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad.
“Andrey Troshev is directly involved in the military operations of the Wagner Group in Syria. He was particularly involved in the area of Deir ez-Zor. As such, he provides a crucial contribution to Bashar al-Assad’s war effort and therefore supports and benefits from the Syrian regime,” the sanctions documents read.
Troshev is closely associated with several high-profile figures in the Wagner Group, including founder Dimitriy Utkin, a former GRU military intelligence officer, and commanders Aleksandr Sergeevich Kuznetsov and Andrey Bogatov.
Troshev also features in the United Kingdom’s list of financial sanctions targets that describes him as, “The Chief Executive of the Wagner Group. Therefore, he has supported the Syrian regime, was a member of a militia, and has repressed the civilian population in Syria.”
A veteran of multiple wars, Troshev served fought in the decade-long in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War and then in the North Caucasus, particularly showing his gallantry in the Chechen War, with the Russian army. He also served as a commander in SOBR, a quick reaction special forces unit of the Russian interior ministry.
The decorated military veteran was awarded the Order of the Red Star twice for his service in Afghanistan. In 2016, he was awarded Russia’s highest medal, Hero of Russia, for leading the storming of Palmyra in Syria against Islamic State terrorists.
Prigozhin’s fate
There have been no public sightings of Yevgeny Prigozhin since he departed the southern Russian city of Rostov on June 24th.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said that the United States is not aware of Prigozhin’s whereabouts, but he joked that the Wagner Group leader could have been poisoned.
“If I were he, I’d be careful what I ate. I’d be keeping my eye on my menu,” Biden said, according to the White House. “But all kidding aside…I don’t think any of us know for sure what the future of Prigozhin is in Russia.”
Wagner Group’s current operations
Belarusian officials announced on Friday that Wagner Group fighters were providing military training to their territorial defence forces.
The Wagner Group’s short-lived rebellion was put to an end courtesy of a deal that required some Wagner fighters and Prigozhin to relocate to Belarus.
“Near Asipovichy, units of territorial defence troops are undergoing training,” the Belarusian defence ministry said in a statement, as quoted by news agency AFP. “Fighters of the Wagner private military company are acting as instructors in a number of military disciplines.”
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