Wagner mercenaries must swear allegiance to Russia - Putin

President Vladimir Putin has called connected each employees of Wagner and different Russian backstage subject contractors to instrumentality an oath of allegiance to the Russian state.

The decree applies to anyone participating successful subject activities successful Ukraine, assisting the service and serving successful territorial defence units.

He signed the decree connected Friday, with contiguous effect.

It comes 2 days aft Wagner leaders were presumed killed successful a level crash.

"Putin wants to person tighter power connected Wagner," says Natia Seskuria, Associate Fellow astatine the Royal United Services Institute, "to marque definite helium won't beryllium facing different situation successful the future. It indicates that Putin is becoming much risk-averse."

The decree comes astatine a clip erstwhile Wagner mercenary fighters are lacking an evident leader, aft a level presumed to beryllium carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin and different leaders crashed connected Wednesday sidesplitting each 10 radical connected board.

Described successful the decree arsenic a measurement to forge the spiritual and motivation foundations of the defence of Russia, the wording of the oath includes a enactment successful which those who instrumentality it committedness to strictly travel the orders of commanders and elder leaders.

"It is simply a concealed connection to subject quality to find and prosecute Wagner fighters," Petro Burkovskyi, Executive Director of the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a deliberation vessel based successful Ukraine, told the BBC.

And it is simply a wide awesome to the fighters, too, helium suggests.

"They took the oath successful the past arsenic well, it's modular process for galore armies. So it is simply a awesome to Wagner fighters: Either instrumentality the oath and support your arms oregon disarm yourself. You obey oregon you spell to prison."

A fewer weeks earlier Prigozhin's failed uprising successful June, the Russian defence ministry gave mercenary groups until 1 July to motion service contracts.

Prigozhin refused to sign, due to the fact that helium didn't privation his Wagner Group to run nether the ministry.

Mr Putin backed the ministry's declaration strategy astatine the time, which was the archetypal nationalist stroke against his semipermanent state Prigozhin.

But what effect volition it person connected the Wagner fighters without an evident leader?

Mr Burkovskyi thinks that arsenic trained and experienced fighters, they are bully assets for the Russian army.

"They are mostly vocation subject servicemen, different than being ideological.

"They chose Wagner due to the fact that Wagner gave them peculiar treatment, without the bureaucracy of the immense Russian army. If they get peculiar attraction nether Putin's orders, I don't deliberation they attraction astir where, to whom and for whom they volition fight."

Ms Seskuria believes that Prigozhin's existent supporters, who don't privation to instrumentality the oath, mightiness make problems successful the agelong term.

"I deliberation the connection is precise clear, you either travel the rules oregon extremity up similar Prigozhin," she says.

"In that consciousness it volition enactment successful a short-term perspective. However, Prigozhin had loyal supporters wrong Wagner and this tin perchance make problems for Putin successful a longer term-perspective."

Meanwhile determination were drone attacks connected Moscow and Belgorod regions connected Saturday morning, some changeable down by aerial defence systems, according to Russian officials.

No casualties nor damages were reported. Moscow's 3 main airports suspended flights for a mates of hours.

In the Belgorod portion bordering Ukraine, 4 radical were wounded arsenic a effect of shelling, politician Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Moscow blamed Ukraine for the shelling and drone attacks. Kyiv has not commented yet, arsenic they astir ne'er publically claimed work for the attacks wrong Russia.

And successful Ukraine, 2 radical person been killed and 1 wounded aft Russia shelled a Ukrainian colony adjacent the northeast municipality of Kupiansk, Kharkiv's determination politician said, adding that a cafe had been hit.