War in Ukraine: who is “Grey”, the man Putin wanted to entrust command of Wagner?

His nickname is still not often mentioned. But it was brought to the fore late last week when Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the Russian newspaper Kommersant to return, among other things, to the aborted Wagner group insurgency.

The head of state assured that Yevgeny Progiin, during a meeting at the end of June, refused his proposal to appoint another person to head the militia in his place so that the soldiers could “continue to serve.” According to the Kremlin resident, it was even the one who was “their real commander” in recent months. If Vladimir Putin had not given his name, the Russian media would have taken care of it for him—or almost: the lucky one would have been “Sedoy,” Andrey Trochev’s nickname, in reference to his “gray hair.”

A document from the European authorities, dated late 2021, provides some information about the man’s past. Andrei Nikolaevich Trochev, full name, was born in 1953 in St. Petersburg, then still Leningrad. A retired colonel, he is called one of the founders of the private Wagner militia and its “executive director”.

“Very good performer”

The Council of the European Union considered his case in the context of the activities of the Russian group in Syria, in particular in support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. It turned out that “Grey” took “direct participation” in the military operation under the leadership of Wagner, in particular, in the Deir ez-Zor region in eastern Syria. “He made a decisive contribution to the military actions of Bashar al-Assad and thus supported the Syrian regime, from which he also benefited,” the report notes.

Igor Girkin, who was once the defense minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic – a region controlled by separatist rebels – and whom the EU considers to be the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) in the area, recently gave some details about Andrey Trochev to the Russian NSN media.

According to him, he may not be the unofficial commander of Wagner, as Vladimir Putin assured him, but “at least the chief of staff” of all police units in the Lugansk region. He describes him as “a career colonel of the internal troops” with “quite a lot of combat experience.” According to him, “Sedoi” would be a very good performer, “without special requirements”, able to “listen carefully and not ask questions.” Probably, the qualities that suit Vladimir Putin during the purge to oust those who criticized Russia’s military strategy in Ukraine and the decisions of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.