Russian Defense Ministry receives weapons from Wagner fighters

The mercenary Wagner Fighting Group handed over a large cache of heavy weapons, military equipment and thousands of tons of ammunition to the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow that among them were T-90 and T-80 tanks, multiple rocket launchers and several artillery systems. In addition, the Wagner company delivered more than 2,500 tons of ammunition of various types and 20,000 firearms.

The military leadership published a videotape of heavy weapons. Konashenkov said that now all military equipment will be serviced and then “used for its intended purposes.”

Wagner repeatedly seized territory, including the town of Bakhmut, in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which lasted for more than 16 months. Last month, however, Prigozhin instigated an uprising against Moscow.

He ended the rebellion on June 24 with his forces less than 200 kilometers from Moscow, after the mediation of Belarusian Governor Alexander Lukashenko. In return, he and his militants were promised immunity from prosecution.

A few days later, Prigozhin and dozens of his Wagner commanders met with President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin did not give any details of the outcome of the meeting. During the uprising, Putin spoke of “betrayal”.