 and $5,000 in cash, military maps of Syria, receipts for new weapons and electronic plane tickets. This was Andrei Troshev, a tough former Russian army artillery colonel who Vladimir Putin says he has chosen to replace Yevgeny Prigozhin as commander of the Wagner mercenaries three weeks after they mutinied . In June 2017, when he wound up in the St Petersburg hospital, Troshev had already been made a Hero of Russia by Putin for helping to lead a Wagner attack against Islamic State in Syria the previous year, which freed the ancient town of Palmyra . Reports of the battle on Wagner-affiliated Telegram channels described how he swore at Russian army commanders, demanding to be given more artillery shells. They said that his leadership helped win the day for Wagner and impressed Putin. Troshev helped set up Wagner in 2014 and has played a prominent role since, running its biggest military operations in Syria, Africa and Ukraine . 'Troshev is the Executive Director (Chief of Staff) of Wagner Group,' said the EU in 2021, when it sanctioned him.){kind=link}
Russian leader calls on Andrei Troshev, a tough ex-army colonel, to bring the mutineering mercenaries back in line
When doctors working at a St Petersburg hospital in 2017 looked through the belongings of the paralytic drunk that paramedics had just dropped off, they were amazed.
The comatose, stocky middle-aged man with a mop of grey hair was carrying five million roubles (£42,250) and $5,000 in cash, military maps of Syria, receipts for new weapons and electronic plane tickets.
This was Andrei Troshev, a tough former Russian army artillery colonel who Vladimir Putin says he has chosen to replace Yevgeny Prigozhin as commander of the Wagner mercenaries three weeks after they mutinied.
In June 2017, when he wound up in the St Petersburg hospital, Troshev had already been made a Hero of Russia by Putin for helping to lead a Wagner attack against Islamic State in Syria the previous year, which freed the ancient town of Palmyra.