@Pattyagray for months, he got his own section of the frontline with regular troups left and right, he was being supplied by the Russian military, and has been a kremlin insider for many years. I don’t think the mercenary vs official distinction makes much of a difference here. Maybe (?) he was never inside the official command below the sec defense, but he wouldn’t have ended up with that frontline if somebody (even higher up) hadn’t let him / made him.