"Some elements" of the Wagner Group are still in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, despite their leader's attempted rebellion nearly a week ago, according to the Department of Defense.
The paramilitary group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led a short-lived revolt against top Russian military leaders last weekend, which ultimately failed and led him to supposedly flee to Belarus, though he hasn't been seen in public since the end of his mutiny.
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"We continue to see some elements of the Wagner group in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine," Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Thursday. He declined to provide more details on how many Wagner forces remain in Ukraine.
"They have been conducting operations in Ukraine for a while now. And so, you know, most recently near Bakhmut, and so elements of those units are still in Ukraine, but I'm not able to provide numbers from the podium here," he added.
Prigozhin's supposed plan was to capture Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia's general staff, both of whom he's criticized for months, but he was forced to speed up his timeline after Russian intelligence officials uncovered his plans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing Western officials.
Russian Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who previously served as Moscow's top commander in Ukraine, reportedly had advanced knowledge of Prigozhin's plan. His whereabouts are also unknown. The Moscow Times reported Surovikin was arrested on Wednesday, and the Kremlin declined to comment on Thursday.
The Belarusian government brokered a truce agreement that resulted in Prigozhin calling off his "march for justice," and supposedly leaving Russia for Belarus. While Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, announced Prigozhin had reached his country, the Wagner chief has not been seen publicly in days.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no "information" regarding Prigozhin's whereabouts on Thursday, according to state media outlet Tass. The outlet also reported that the chairman of the State Duma’s Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, said Prizoghin declined to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry after he was notified that the Wagner Group would no longer be participating in the war in Ukraine.
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The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense estimated that Wagner had 50,000 mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. The United States National Security Council said about 80% of Wagner’s troops in Ukraine had been recruited from prisons and promised freedom, if they survive their deployment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this week that Wagner would continue its operations in multiple African nations. The Biden administration classified the paramilitary group a significant transnational criminal organization earlier this year.