The background to the big clash between Moscow and the Wagner team brings to light the BBCrevealing the Russian plan to take complete control of the group Wagner.

As the BBC reports, Russia appears to have moved to take direct control of Wagner, after months of infighting between officials and the private military group. Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said on Saturday that “volunteer formations” would be invited to sign contracts directly with the Defense Ministry.

The vaguely worded statement is widely believed to be aimed at the Wagner group. This was confirmed by the angry reaction of the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhinwho was absolute, declaring that he would not sign any contract with Moscow.

The private military group played an important role in the war in Ukraine, fighting alongside Russian forces. But Prigozhin, who is said to have political ambitions of his own, has been embroiled in a public spat with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Armed Forces Chief Valery Gerasimov for months. He repeatedly accused the pair of incompetence and of deliberately subsidizing Wagner units fighting in Ukraine.

“Wagner will not sign any contract with him Shoigu” Prigozhin said in response after the Defense Ministry’s announcement. “Shoigu can’t manage the military formation properly.” He insisted his team was well integrated with the Russian military, but said its effectiveness would suffer if it had to report to the defense minister.

While Saturday’s announcement did not directly mention Wagner or other paramilitary groups, Russian media said the new contracts were a move to rein in Prigozhin and his forces. But the defense ministry said the move was designed to “increase the effectiveness” of Russian units fighting in Ukraine. “This will give the voluntary formations the necessary legal status, create common approaches to the organization of comprehensive support and the fulfillment of their tasks,” the Russian ministry said, adding that the contracts must be signed by July 1.

Last week the group kidnapped a senior frontline army commander, Lt.-Col. Roman Venevitin, after accusing him of opening fire on a Wagner vehicle near Bahamut. Lt. Col. Venevitin was later released and in a video shared by Russian military bloggers, accused the group of fomenting “anarchy” on Russia’s front lines by stealing weapons and forcing mobilized soldiers to sign contracts with the group.

In December, the US estimated that Wagner had about 50,000 troops fighting in Ukraine.