The heads of Russia’s regions will be allowed to create their own paramilitary companies under legislation adopted by the State Duma, the country’s parliament.

The creation of such military companies, which would be financed from federal and regional budgets, will “strengthen the protection of public order and ensure public safety during the period of mobilization, during martial law, in wartime,” the legislation, published on Tuesday morning, states.

It comes more than a month into Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and as President Vladimir Putin’s forces are reportedly facing heavy losses on the battlefield. Notorious paramilitary outfit the Wagner Group had been assisting Russian troops, particularly in the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, prior to an uprising last month led by its head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has now been exiled to Belarus along with some of his fighters.