Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview published late on Thursday, said he had offered mercenary fighters with the Wagner group the opportunity to keep serving within the Russian regular military. Putin, interviewed by the Russian daily Kommersant, said he made the offer at a meeting with fighters and their founder Yevgeny Prigozhin late last month, five days after Wagner staged an abortive revolt against Russia's military hierarchy. The revolt ended with Moscow offering Prigozhin and Wagner fighters the chance to settle in neighbouring Belarus.

He also said it was up to the Russian parliament and government to discuss a legal framework for private armies. "Wagner does not exist," Putin told the newspaper. "There is no law on private military organisations. It just doesn't exist."