Russian private military company
Wagner Group Logo of the Wagner Group since April 2023
[ 1] Also known as Wagnerites,[ 2] Wagners,[ 3] Musicians,[ 4] Orchestra[ 3] Leader Pavel Prigozhin [ 5] [ 6] Military leader Anton Yelizarov [ 6] Founders Yevgeny Prigozhin † Dmitry Utkin † Ruling body Council of Commanders[ 7] [ 8] Notable leaders Dates of operation 2014–present[ 11] Headquarters PMC Wagner Center , Saint Petersburg , RussiaSlogan "Blood, Honor, Justice, Homeland, Courage" (Russian : Кровь, Честь, Справедливость, Родина, Отвага )[ 1] Size Part of National Guard of Russia (since 2023)[ 6] Allies
Opponents
Battles and wars
Designated as a terrorist group byAlternative logos
The Wagner Group (Russian: Группа Вагнера , romanized : Gruppa Vagnera ), officially known as PMC Wagner [ 9] (Russian: ЧВК «Вагнер» , romanized : ChVK «Vagner»[ 66] ), is a Russian[ 67] private military company (PMC) controlled until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin , a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Putin .[ 9] [ 68] The Wagner Group has used infrastructure of the Russian Armed Forces .[ 69] Evidence suggests that Wagner has been used as a proxy by the Russian government, allowing it to have plausible deniability for military operations abroad, and hiding the true casualties of Russia's foreign interventions.[ 69] [ 70]
The group emerged during the Donbas War in Ukraine, where it helped pro-Russian forces from 2014 to 2015.[ 9] Wagner played a significant role in the subsequent full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine ,[ 71] for which it recruited Russian prison inmates for frontline combat.[ 72] [ 73] By the end of 2022, its strength in Ukraine had grown from 1,000 to between 20,000 and 50,000.[ 74] [ 75] [ 76] It was reportedly Russia's main assault force in the Battle of Bakhmut . Wagner has also supported regimes friendly with Putin's Russia, including in the civil wars in Syria , Libya , the Central African Republic , and Mali .[ 9] In Africa , it has offered regimes security in exchange for the transfer of diamond and gold mining contracts to Russian companies.[ 77] Wagner operatives have been accused of war crimes including murder, torture, rape and robbery of civilians,[ 9] [ 78] [ 79] [ 80] as well as torturing and killing accused deserters.[ 81] [ 82]
Prigozhin admitted that he was the leader of Wagner in September 2022.[ 83] [ 84] He began openly criticizing the Russian Defense Ministry for mishandling the war against Ukraine, eventually saying their reasons for the invasion were lies .[ 85] On 23 June 2023, he led the Wagner Group in an armed rebellion against Russia after accusing the Defense Ministry of shelling Wagner soldiers. Wagner units seized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don , while a Wagner convoy headed towards Moscow . The mutiny was halted the next day when an agreement was reached: Wagner mutineers would not be prosecuted if they chose to either sign contracts with the Defense Ministry or withdraw to Belarus .[ 86]
On 23 August 2023, Prigozhin and Wagner commanders Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov died in a plane crash in Russia , leaving Wagner's leadership structure unclear.[ 87] Western intelligence reported that it was likely caused by an explosion on board, and it is widely suspected that the Russian state was involved.[ 88]
^ a b Иванов, Геннадий (17 April 2023). "Борьба за справедливость: ЧВК "Вагнер" изменила девиз на боевых знаменах - Петербургская газета" (in Russian). Retrieved 25 August 2023 .
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^ a b "Грубо говоря, мы начали войну Как отправка ЧВК Вагнера на фронт помогла Пригожину наладить отношения с Путиным — и что такое "собянинский полк". Расследование "Медузы" о наемниках на войне в Украине" . Meduza . Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2023 .
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^ Nanu, Maighna (2 October 2023). "Yevgeny Prigozhin's son 'takes over command of Wagner' " . The Telegraph . ISSN 0307-1235 . Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023 .
^ a b c "В городах России возобновили набор в ЧВК Вагнера — как в новое подразделение Росгвардии" . Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024 .
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^ "Один из командиров ЧВК "Вагнер" рассказывает Би-би-си, как для них прошел мятеж и что будет с наемниками дальше" . BBC News Русская служба . 11 July 2023. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2023 .
^ a b c d e f Faulkner, Christopher (June 2022). Cruickshank, Paul; Hummel, Kristina (eds.). "Undermining Democracy and Exploiting Clients: The Wagner Group's Nefarious Activities in Africa" (PDF) . CTC Sentinel . 15 (6). West Point, New York : Combating Terrorism Center : 28–37. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022 .
^ Light, Felix (5 May 2023). "Russian ex-deputy defence minister joins Wagner as feud escalates, war bloggers report" . Reuters.com . Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023 .
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^ "British Intelligence: The number of Wagner Group personnel has decreased tenfold over the past year" . odessa-journal.com . 23 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024 . Numerous veteran Wagner personnel have followed these and other former Wagner leaders in transferring from the group. In comparison to its peak personnel count of around 50,000 in 2023, Wagner now highly likely maintains around 5,000 total personnel across its residual deployments in Belarus and Africa.
^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 24, 2023" . Institute for the Study of War . Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023 .
^ Frontline report: Prigozhin's video exposes high losses and failure of Wagner Group in battle for Bakhmut
^ Watson, Ben; Hlad, Jennifer (22 December 2022). "Today's D Brief: Zelenskyy thanks Americans, lawmakers; North Korea sent arms to Wagner, WH says; Breaking down the omnibus; Germany's year ahead; And a bit more" . Defense One . Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2022 .
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