Vladimir Putin, Russian President, has ordered Wagner mercenaries to take an oath of allegiance to the Russian state.

Mr Putin’s order applies to anyone participating in military activities in Ukraine and assisting the army or serving in territorial defence units.

The Russian President signed the decree with immediate effect on Friday.

The decree came as Wagner mercenaries are lacking an obvious leader, after a plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin and other leaders crashed on Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board.

Described in the decree as a step to build the spiritual and moral foundations of Russia’s defence, the oath includes a promise to strictly follow the orders of commanders.

The latest developments came two days after Wager leaders were allegedly killed in a plane crash.

An Analyst, Natia Seskuria of the Royal United Services Institute, suggests Mr Putin’s decree is part of attempts to reassert his authority following Wagner’s mutiny in June.

“Putin wants to have tighter control on Wagner to make sure he won’t be facing another crisis in the future,” Mr Seskuria of Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank, told the BBC.

A few weeks before Mr Prigozhin’s failed uprising in June, the Russian defence ministry gave mercenary groups until July 1, 2023, to sign army contracts.

Mr Prigozhin refused to sign because he did not want Wagner to operate under the ministry.

Mr Putin backed the ministry’s contract scheme, which was the first public blow against his long-term ally Prigozhin.