The decision severely undermines Prigozhin, who has parlayed Wagner's role in the capture of Bakhmut into an outsized public profile in Russia that he uses to berate Putin's generals and relentlessly promote himself.
Speaking to a group of pro-war bloggers on Tuesday, the Russian president said he welcomed the defence minister Sergei Shoigu's initiative to force mercenary groups to sign contracts with the ministry - an order Prigozhin has refused to follow.
"This has to be done and it has to be done as quickly as possible," Putin said, referring to the military contracts, saying it was "in line with common sense, with established practice and the law".
Earlier, Shoigu had ordered all "volunteer detachments" to sign contracts with his ministry by the end of the month, a step seen as an attempt to rein in Prigozhin by integrating Wagner into the army.
"Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu," Prigozhin shot back, slamming Shoigu for failing to "properly manage military formations".
This story is from the June 15, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the June 15, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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