Legislator heralds new bill to expand Russia’s National Guard with ‘volunteer’ units, claiming it has nothing to do with PMC Wagner • Meduza • RIMA

Legislator heralds new bill to expand Russia’s National Guard with ‘volunteer’ units, claiming it has nothing to do with PMC Wagner

A bill to enable Russia’s National Guard to recruit “volunteers” into special formations under its umbrella is due for submission to Russia’s State Duma on September 22. One of its co-authors, Deputy Alexander Khinshteyn, announced the proposal on Telegram.

If passed, the legislator writes, the new law will extend to the National Guard the same prerogatives as currently enjoyed by Russia’s Defense Ministry, including the ability to create volunteer formations if sanctioned by the president. Such units can function in times of armed conflict, mobilization, or when martial law is in effect.

Under the bill’s provisions, National Guard volunteers will also have the same rights and privileges as those who voluntarily join the regular army.

Rumors that Wagner Group might be negotiating with the National Guard spread on the Russian social media days earlier.

The news outlet iStories reports, for example, that a user named Anastasia, who described herself as a PMC Wagner rep, posted messages in private groups for Wagner family members, announcing that the PMC is about to be attached to the National Guard but will keep its name and “basic principles,” even under the new aegis.

She also wrote that Wagner Group is going to renew its activities in Belarus, Africa, and Ukraine — noting, however, that negotiations were still in progress and no official agreement had been reached yet.

Similarly, on September 18, Anastasia Kashevarova — a former aide to State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin — wrote that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s son Pavel had met with the National Guard Director Viktor Zolotov and the Wagner commander Anton Elizarov (code name “Lotus”), rumored to be one of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s possible successors.

When writing about the bill going into the hopper tomorrow, Deputy Khinshteyn insisted that it has nothing to do with the rumors of the National Guard absorbing the deceased Prigozhin’s PMC.