Wagner’s second-in-command Troshev sided against Prigozhin during the coup – report

According to Russian human rights initiative Gulagu.net, high-ranking member of the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), Andrei Troshev, became the first Wagner commander to refuse to support Yevgeny Prigozhin’s June 24 mutiny.

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The report was published by Gulagu.net on July 17, quoting a source from the "now former Wagner PMC headquarters." The source reveals that Troshev, previously the second in command after Prigozhin, opted to provide "internal information" to Russia’s FSB and Defense Ministry. By declining to partake in the mutiny, he reportedly earned the backing of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin

Gulagu.net writes that, much like Prigozhin and one of Wagner's initial commanders, Dmitry Utkin, Troshev carries the title of "Hero of Russia." He is a retired colonel who supervised security services, logistics, and all matters concerning the recruitment of prisoners, their pardons, and their deployment for full-scale war by Russia against Ukraine.

The report asserts that Troshev and his accomplices also pursued fugitive former “Wagnerites” within Russia, threatened those who communicated with journalists and human rights activists, and aimed to halt investigations and criminal proceedings against the PMC.

Troshev was offered a position "within a structure linked to the Ministry of Defense" responsible for recruiting prisoners into the Storm Z regiment.

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“Troshev brought more than 10 key personnel from Prigozhin's office with him,” the report reads.

“Prigozhin saw this as a betrayal, and he, along with Utkin, instigated a series of publications via their Telegram channels to discredit their former associate.”

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Earlier, CNN reported that Putin caused a "split" amongst high-ranking Wagner commanders and Prigozhin, by proposing their leadership be taken over by Troshev.

EU and UK sanction documents recognize Troshev as a retired Russian colonel, co-founder, and executive director of the Wagner PMC. Born in Leningrad in 1953, Troshev directly participated in the Wagner’s operations in Syria and “significantly contributed to the military action of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.”

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Russian media describe Troshev as a former employee of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs' special rapid response unit in the North-Western Federal District, an "Afghanistan and Chechnya veteran," honored with state awards. Troshev also appeared in photos from a Kremlin reception in December 2016, standing next to Putin and Utkin.

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