 Thousands of ex-Vagna fighters to join Chechen unit Ramzan Kadyrov, the Akhmat Special Forces unit from the Chechen Republic, will absorb 3,000 ex-Vagna private military company fighters, the regional head Ramzan Kadyrov has announced. A renowned Wagner commander with the call sign Ratibor will also join the elite Chechen unit. After now deceased, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigoshin's failed mutiny attempt in June 2023, the Russian authorities gave the group's members the choice of either signing contracts with the Defence Ministry or moving to Belarus. In a post on his telegram channel, Kadyrov wrote that Russia's Defence Ministry had already allocated the necessary number of vacancies to accommodate the newcomers in Akhmat. He added that arrangements and formalities will be sorted out in the near future and the ex-Vagna fighters will soon see action. The Chechen leader hailed the fighters as experienced and very effective warriors, who have proven their metal in Ukraine. He described the incorporation of such troops into Akhmat as a strategically important step toward beefing up the country's defence capabilities. We are united by a single purpose to defend the motherland and its interests. I am convinced that this decision will very soon have a considerable impact on the way the special military operation progresses. Kadyrov concluded, in February, the commander of Akhmat, Apti Alodinov told the Russian media that there were three separate units composed of former Wagner private military company fighters in his detachment. Akhmat is a part of the Russian National Guard, which is an internal military force that reports directly to the President and the head of the National Security Council. The Wagner group played a key role in seizing the city of Bakhmut in Donbas last May. Russia rebuilt its military after suffering tremendous losses in Ukraine, U.S. official. Russia has been successful in rebuilding its military after suffering tremendous losses during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a U.S. official has claimed. According to Defense Post media outlet, speaking during an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stated that they have been monitoring Moscow over the last few months to assess if it has regained its strength. He said invading forces have almost completely reconstituted. Thanks to the significant surge in its defense spending since the war broke out in February 2022, the support of its closest allies in China, North Korea, and Iran has also helped Russia endure economic and military setbacks in the last two years, Campbell stated. We've really seen the People's Republic of China start to help to rebuild Russia's defense industrial base, essentially backfilling the trade from European partners, he remarked. As of March 2024, Russia has likely suffered more than 350,000 casualties in Ukraine due to Kiev's heavy resistance according to a UK Ministry of Defense Intelligence report. The average daily number of killed and wounded Russian soldiers currently stands at 983, the highest since the invasion began. Additionally, Moscow has reportedly lost 2,619 of the nearly 3,000 tanks it initially deployed to Ukraine. US intelligence officials previously claimed the invading forces might need a decade to fully recover considering the enormous losses it had sustained. But Campbell's latest assessment fuels speculation that Russia is recuperating faster than expected and on schedule for its alleged plan to attack a NATO member by 2026.