Is the Wagner Group recruiting again?

The Wagner Group is in the process of recruiting new fighters just three months after its former leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a horrific plane crash according to news reports from Russian media inside of the country. 

Russia’s most infamous private military company is on the hunt for new recruits and the drive for fighters is allegedly being headed by the son of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Pavel Prigozhin according to reporting from 59.RU. 

59.RU is a regional news outlet based out of Perm and the media group confirmed that the Wagner Group was recruiting again in Perm after speaking with a representative of the mercenary company based in the city. 

The outlet also reported that the Wagner representative they spoke with explained that members of the Wagner Group had become part of Russia’s National Guard known as the Rosgvardia and were being led by Prighozin’s son Pavel.  

Business Insider picked up the story and reported that a second Russian news source, the Novosibirsk-based NGS.RU also revealed the Wagner Group was recruiting based on sources from a local branch of a mercenary outfit. 

NGS.RU did not mention that the reformed mercenary group was being led by the son of Yevgeny Prigozhin and added that it was still unknown if the new recruits would end up fighting in Ukraine. Salaries were also not listed. 

The Wagner Group’s Perm Telegram and Vkontakte account listed the requirements that new recruits needed to meet in order to be considered, which were relayed in a post entitled “We’re coming back,” according to Business Insider. 

Some of the requirements new recruits needed in order to sign a contract with the Perm Wagner office included proof of Russian citizenship, filled-out documents with a signed power of attorney, and a certificate stating they had never been punished for drug use. 

Even more interesting was the requirement of a certificate from the state showing that the candidate had never had a criminal record, an ironic condition considering that Wagner had previously recruited heavily from Russia’s prison system. 

New Wagner Group recruits also needed to have a clean bill of physical and mental health. Applicants could not have a chronic disease, Hepatitis, HIV, or syphilis, and needed a certificate from a psychiatrist on the state of their mental health.

Business Insider reported that the Perm Wagner Group's social media accounts later posted on November 1st that recruitment had been suspended, adding that no reason was given for the suspension of recruitment. 

Newsweek also picked up the story of the Wagner Group’s possible return and added the Russian news website Military Review published a report on October 29th, noting Wagner had worked out a deal to fight in Ukraine as part of the Russian National Guard. 

Newsweek was unable to confirm the reports that the Wagner Group was in the process of recruiting new mercenaries in order to return to Ukraine and added that the news of the private military company’s return came after months of speculation about its fate. 

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Russian Ministry of Defense took complete control of the PMC and has repeatedly asserted that the Wagner Group ‘does not exist’ under Russian law,” wrote Newsweek’s Kaitlin Lewis. 

If news of the Wagner Group’s new recruitment efforts proves true, it would be another interesting development in the saga of the mercenary group. Business Insider reported that Pavel Prigozhin has been to be the successor leader of Wagner for months. 

As of October 1st, the Institute for the Study of War reported that the ultimate fate of the Wagner Group has remained unclear, noting a prominent Wagner-affiliated military blogger noted that Pavel had taken over command of the company and was negotiating with the Defense Ministry to return to the war in Ukraine. 

Not much is known about Pavel Prigozhin outside of Russia beyond the fact that he is 25 years old and was set to inherit much of his father's wealth according to Business Insider.