THE embattled Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Russian government fully financed the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC).
During a meeting with the Defense Ministry’s military personnel, Putin emphasized that the state had ensured the financing of the entire Wagner group from the Defense Ministry’s budget and the state budget.
From May 2022 to May 2023, the state allocated 86.2 billion rubles ($1 billion) to PMC Wagner, which was distributed as salaries to fighters, incentive rewards, and insurance payments. The breakdown of the allocated funds included 70.38 billion rubles for remuneration, 15.87 billion rubles for incentive rewards, and 110.17 billion rubles for insurance payments.
Additionally, Putin mentioned that Wagner’s owner, the Concord company, received 80 billion rubles ($940 million) from the state during the same period for supplying food and providing food services to the army. Putin expressed the hope that there were no instances of theft during these activities or, at the very least, that any potential theft was minimal. He emphasized that the matter would be investigated.
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