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| Wagner's hired guns must pledge allegiance to Russia, according to Putin |
All Wagner personnel as well as those of other Russian private defense contractors have been urged by President Vladimir Putin to swear fealty to the Russian government.
Anyone helping the army, serving in territorial defense groups, or engaging in military activity in Ukraine is subject to the regulation.
On Friday, with immediate effect, he signed the decree.
Two days prior, leaders of the Wagner movement were reportedly murdered in an airplane crash.
On Saturday, a far-right Wagner faction known as Rusich announced it was ceasing military actions in Ukraine.
Rusich said in a Telegram post that the Russian foreign ministry had failed to defend Yan Petrovsky, a founding member of the group who had been detained in Finland for visa irregularities and was in danger of being extradited to Ukraine.
According to analysts, Mr. Putin's order is part of efforts to reassert his control in the wake of the Wagner mutiny in June.
Putin desires greater supervision over Wagner in order to prevent repeat crises, according to Natia Seskuria of the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London, who spoke to the BBC.
After a plane thought to be transporting Yevgeny Prigozhin and other leaders crashed on Wednesday, killing all 10 persons on board, the Wagner mercenaries are now without a clear leader.
The directive refers to the oath as a measure to lay the moral and spiritual cornerstones of Russia's defense and includes a pledge to adhere strictly to commanders' commands.
The Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a Ukrainian think tank, is directed by Petro Burkovskyi, who told the BBC that the organization is sending a covert message to military intelligence to track down and prosecute Wagner fighters.
He adds that it is also a very obvious message to the combatants: "Either accept the oath and keep your arms, or disarm yourself. You must comply or face imprisonment.
The Russian defense ministry gave mercenary companies until July 1 to sign army contracts a few weeks before Prigozhin's unsuccessful rebellion in June.
Because he did not want Wagner to work for the ministry, Prigozhin declined to sign. The ministry's contracting plan was supported by Mr. Putin, dealing his longtime ally Prigozhin his first major public setback.
As the argument got worse, Prigozhin started to rebel.
However, how would the decree affect the Wagner warriors who lack a clear leader?
As seasoned soldiers, Mr. Burkovskyi sees them as valuable resources for the Russian army.
They choose Wagner because he treated them favorably and avoided the massive Russian army's bureaucracy. They may not care where, against whom, or for whom they fight if Putin gives them preferential treatment.
Although the edict might have an immediate impact, Ms. Seskuria thinks that some devoted Prigozhin followers will refuse to take the oath.
In the long run, he claims, "Putin could run into issues because of this."
Meanwhile Russian air defences prevented drone attacks on Moscow and Belgorod regions on Saturday morning, officials said.
In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, four people were wounded by shelling, the local governor said.
The Ukrainian government almost never publicly admits carrying out for attacks inside Russia.
And in Ukraine, two people were killed and one wounded as Russia shelled a Ukrainian village near the north-eastern town of Kupiansk, Kharkiv's regional governor said.
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