Former “Wagner” soldiers were given certificates of combat veterans – Kommersant

Today, December 18, the chairman of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, Anna Tsivileva, issued combat veteran certificates to 32 soldiers of the Wagner PMC. The ceremony took place at the Unified Support Center in Moscow.

“It turned out that you could not receive either the certificates you were entitled to, or often even state awards,” Mrs. Tsivileva addressed the participants in the military operation present in the hall. “We observed that in some regions the awards were sent to you in boxes – and then they were distributed to the children. It is unacceptable”.

Ms. Tsivileva stated that the state fund “Defenders of the Fatherland” “interacts with both the Ministry of Defense and the private military company.” “We collect all the documents, we prepare them correctly, and bring them to the Ministry of Defense. A special commission has been created there, it reviews documents and issues certificates,” she said. According to her, “there are currently 3 thousand applications from PMC participants, and “about 500 certificates” have been issued.

“Our first trip was with him to Nizhny Novgorod, where we gathered guys like you. They came with families, with wives, with children, with mothers. Directly in the administration building, in a solemn atmosphere, they were presented with state awards by the governor (Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin.— “Ъ”), guests of honor. This is exactly how it should be,” said Anna Tsivileva.

“Now we also meet with you and present you with certificates in the Moscow office. We understand that, of course, not everyone will go to Moscow or St. Petersburg. And just the other day we handed over the certificates to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where they will be presented at the same offices, our branches. If a person is injured, cannot or does not want to come, our social coordinators will come home and hand over. We will continue this work, it has only just begun. And I think that in the near future everyone who submitted documents will receive certificates,” noted Ms. Tsivileva.

Some combatants came out to receive their IDs on crutches; several people wore balaclava masks that covered their faces. Along with their certificates, they received a “Defenders of the Fatherland” payment card, which the foundation developed jointly with PSB Bank. “Dear men, on behalf of the management of Promsvyazbank, I would like to congratulate you on the presentation of the long-awaited certificates,” said PSB Senior Vice President Vera Podguzova. “On behalf of myself, on behalf of the bank’s female audience, I would like to thank you for defending our Motherland, and us. We know that you are all strong people who defend our borders.” According to her, the card “automatically” provides various benefits and discounts from “large and medium-sized” Russian companies, such as Russian Railways, Aeroflot, and “various large retail chains.”

Question about veteran status for PMC participants was raised December 14 on a direct line with President Vladimir Putin. Combatant Sergei Sobolev said that he fought for six months in the ranks of a private military company that he did not name. “Upon returning home, I applied to the military commissariat of the city of Iskitim to obtain a combat veteran’s certificate, but was refused,” he said. “I ask you to look into this situation, since most of my comrades also served in this private military company.”

In response, Vladimir Putin admitted that there was a problem. According to him, “formally, legally, there are no private military companies in Russia, they are not provided for by law – that’s the problem.” The president also added that “contracts by participants in hostilities within the framework of private military companies, as if private military companies, were not concluded with the state.”

The President noted that “it is now very difficult to establish even the listed personnel of these military units.” At the same time, he emphasized: “The rights of participants (PMC.— “Ъ”), without any doubt, should be restored. They have the right to all social benefits, to any form of support from the state that other participants in hostilities enjoy. There is no doubt about it, this is my absolutely principled position.”

Read more about the final press conference of Vladimir Putin in the report of Kommersant special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov “Live and work like Lermontov”.

Alexander Chernykh