Putin orders former Wagner commander to take charge of 'volunteer units' in Ukraine

This undated photograph shows Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in northern Mali. [AP Photo]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered one of the top commanders of the Wagner military contractor to take charge of "volunteer units" fighting in Ukraine, signaling the Kremlin's effort to keep using the mercenaries after the death of their chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In remarks released by the Kremlin on Friday, Putin told Andrei Troshev that his task is to "deal with forming volunteer units that could perform various combat tasks, primarily in the zone of the special military operation" - a term the Kremlin uses for its war in Ukraine.