How Powerful And Despicable Is The Wagner Group?
How Powerful And Despicable Is The Wagner Group?
In February 2022, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, ordered a "special military operation" on the sovereignty of Ukraine which pretty much everyone knows about. However, what most people don't know is the fact that before the inva–, I mean, "special operation" became mainstream, there were speculations that over 400 Wagner operatives were already on Ukrainian soil, 5 weeks prior. As of now, there are over 50,000 Wagner troops currently in Ukraine.
About a week after the invasion became public, Zelensky had already escaped 2 assassination attempts coming from the Wagner group.
Un-aliving the president of Ukraine is just one of their many exploits, as they've been known to wreak havoc in other countries like Libya, Venezuela, Sudan, Mozambique, etc, at the behest of the Kremlin. There are plausible speculations that whenever Putin wanted shit to happen without leaving his prints all over it, he pushes it over to these guys.
One of the things that makes them deadly is their anonymity and the ease with which they blend in. They look Ukrainian and speak their language even though a lot of them are Russian special forces. Their anonymity gives them the freedom to commit a series of war crimes and cause lots of collateral damage without being held accountable.
This is the Wagner group, Russia's ghost soldiers.
Private mercenaries and military contractors are not as rare as you think, and there’s even a huge market for them. However, since they are legal and legally registered, there are rules guiding their operations because they still experience some forms of regulations.
The same can’t be said for the Wagner group because technically, they don’t even exist, let me explain further. There are strong speculations that the whole group is led by a neo nazi Hitler fanboy named Dmitri Utkin, who also happens to be an Ex Russian special forces officer. The group was even named after Hitler’s favorite composer, a testament to just how much Dmitry drools over Hitler.
Remember when I said the Wagner group doesn’t technically exist? Well, it’s because in Russia where it’s funded, it’s against the law to run a private military group, meaning it’s not registered, at least in Russia.
The company had to be moved to South America, Argentina to be exact, to be registered. Since the laws regarding these things aren't heavily regulated in Argentina, Wagner ended up becoming a disguise, a ruse, and an umbrella term encompassing several private Russian military contractors, who are all bankrolled by one man, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Who is he?
Prigozhin is a friend and very close confidante of Vladimir Putin who owns a chain of companies, including a restaurant. His restaurants have hosted lots of dinners which Putin has attended with friends and foreign dignitaries, earning him the nickname "Putin’s chef."
He also controls 3 companies that were accused of interfering with the US 2016 and 2018 presidential elections. One of the many companies he controls includes the Wagner group, which, as expected, he's strongly denied any involvement with. However, in September 2022, a video circulated which showed Prigozhin in Man El prison where he was promising the inmates freedom if they served in the Wagner group for 6 months.
He eventually caved to pressure and admitted that he founded the group to help Russia with the war in Donbas in 2014. He also initially denied being involved with the US elections, however, in a middle-finger-esque U-turn, admitted he was involved and that he would even continue.
Prigozhin is currently on the FBI's most wanted list with a $250k reward if anyone would provide any information leading to his arrest. He's also facing numerous economic sanctions and criminal charges in the United States.
To put it nicely; Yevgeny Prigozhin, the money bag of the infamous Wagner group is, let's just say, not on Santa's nice list.
The whole thing is a symbiotic relationship. Prigozhin gets a shit load of money, and in return, his buddy Putin gets to wreak as much havoc as he wants without the trail leading directly back to him, after all, the group is illegal and not registered in Russia so the Russian Federation cannot legally be held responsible for the actions of an illegal organization.
One of the few connections though is that the troops are regularly treated in Russian hospitals and some of the aircraft they use belong to the Russian military.
Little green men
Back in 2014, Russia took over Crimea. At that time, the majority of people living there were Russians so the resistance (if there was any) wasn’t as stiff as it is now. While there were Russian soldiers ensuring things went smoothly, within the crowd were also operatives who wore green and had their faces covered.
They were nicknamed the "little green men" and they were there to ensure that if things took another turn during the transition, they were allowed to do whatever, and I mean whatever it took to shut it down. Those were the original Wagner troops and one of them was Dmitry Yukin.
War eventually broke out in Donbas and so 300 Wagner troops had to move over there. However, they were meant to be a last resort as the soldiers were already handling it. They would finally get some action in 2015 when Putin moved them over to Syria. It was a battle between the Syrian government and a Syrian rebel group.
Years ago, Russia made a deal with the Syrian government. The terms were that for every gas plant they were able to liberate from the rebels, 25% of the proceeds will go to Russia. The gas company where the Wagner group was initially stationed to begin their operations was bleeding a lot of money to a company called Evropolis, linked and owned by none other than Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Let's back it up a little bit
Hamdi Bouta was a citizen of Syria living his life happily as a family man. Unfortunately, things started getting really bad in Syria in 2011 so he decided to run to Lebanon. He knew that although his family would be safe in Syria, there was a very good chance he would be forcefully recruited into the Syrian army to fight against the rebels, his own people.
He was afraid of what would happen to his family if he died in the battle so for 6 years, he decided to stay in Lebanon where he would be making phone calls to his family and send them money, dreaming of the day he would see them again.
In 2017, his mother died so he had to come back home. Unfortunately, his worst fears came true as he was captured by Syrian soldiers and forced to join the army. Hamdi was extremely terrified, he feared what will happen to his family so he decided to run.
His plan was that when he got to the base, he would just keep running and running until he found somebody who would help. He did just that and surprisingly, it worked. Hamdi kept running until he got to a camp, extremely tired and dehydrated.
He got there and started begging for help in the only language he could speak, Arabic. The people he met were Wagner troops who accused him of being spies for ISIS.
They brutally beat him with a sledgehammer, breaking his bones, removed his fingers and then his hands with a shovel, cut off his head, and then burned his body. Evidence? How about the fact that they practically filmed the whole thing and broadcast the video for propaganda and to sell merch depicting the horrific activity?
The EU eventually found out that Dmitry was the one who ordered the troops to do what they did and film it all on camera. The Wagner group was already earning a much stronger reputation in the underworld, and in a matter of time, their services would soon be required, again.
Touchdown in Africa
Apart from Syria, other African countries like Sudan, and Mali also hire the services of the Wagner group. The group first step foot in the Central African Republic in the year 2017. The political atmosphere in the CAR at that time was on crack; there was a coup for every drop of a hat.
Most of the military force at that time in that place were peacekeeping troops so, nothing much was being done to salvage the situation. The president of the CAR then had to turn to Russia for assistance. The Wagner group eventually arrived to boost their security and even help them train their army.
A lot of war crimes were committed in the process but who cares, Putin’s chef was making a lot of money. Instead of doing what they were supposed to do, the Wagner group began to collaborate with the people they were supposed to be shooting at, to buy diamonds that were locally mined.
Wagner began to expand all over Africa and companies owned by Prigozhin were raking in millions and millions, with the presidents being complicit. Evidence? How about the fact that the president of CAR once flew to Russia in 2021, on a private jet owned by Prigozhin himself?
This is one of the reasons why most, if not all African countries are very reluctant to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine. I mean, even South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma once called Putin (during the invasion of Ukraine) a "man of peace."
For everything we know about these guys, there are lots more we don’t know. As a matter of fact, most of what we know about them is what they want us to know about, you know, as a way to show us just how dangerous they are.
Nothing explains this more than what happened when 3 Russian journalists traveled to the CAR to uncover the methodology of the Wagner group.
3 days after they arrived, on their way to meet a source, they were ambushed. The gunmen opened fire on the car they were in, killing them instantly, the driver lived to tell the tale. Mind you, locals admitted that there had been no attacks on that particular area weeks before and even weeks after.
Instead of the Russian government blowing a fuse, they more or less defended the assassination. They stated that the journalists weren’t authorized to make that trip and so couldn’t have been protected by the Russian forces residing in the CAR.
On the other hand, the CAR government claimed they were attacked by roadside robbers.
There was a small degree of outcry as a result of the incident. This would be a very good opportunity for Putin to pin the whole attack on a Russian oligarch named Mikhail Korsakovsky who funded the journalism trip.
Mikhail Korsakovsky was once Russia’s richest man who eventually grew a conscience and decided to turn against Putin by publicly condemning his actions. Putin sent him to jail, and then to a labor camp while destroying everything he had built. He currently lives in exile.
The Wagner group is the most bloodthirsty and despicable private military contractor on the planet, and unless their benefactors are brought down, they're almost untouchable.
Sources
"What is Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries in Ukraine? - BBC News" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60947877.amp
"Volodymyr Zelensky ‘survived three assassination attempts in a week’ | Evening Standard" https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/ukraine-zelensky-assassination-attempt-wagner-group-b986057.html?amp
"Dmitry Utkin - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Utkin
"Yevgeny Prigozhin - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Prigozhin
"Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War) - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_green_men_(Russo-Ukrainian_War)
"Russian Mercenaries: Vagner Commanders Describe Life Inside The 'Meat Grinder’" https://www.rferl.org/amp/russian-mercenaries-vagner-commanders-syria/29100402.html
"A Syrian Army Deserter Was Savagely Killed by Putin’s Wagner. Now His Family Seek Justice in Russia - New Lines Magazine" https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/family-seek-justice-in-russia-fo-syrian-army-deserter-was-savagely-killed-by-putins-wagner/
"ANALYSIS: Wagner’s actions in CAR reflect Russia’s increasing military presence in Africa" https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/507041-analysis-wagners-actions-in-car-reflect-russias-increasing-military-presence-in-africa.html
"Russia shocked by mysterious murder of three journalists in CAR - BBC News" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45030087.amp
"Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Putin’s Most Powerful Critic-in-Exile, Says He’s Living Under a Kill Order" https://www.thedailybeast.com/mikhail-khodorkovsky-putins-most-powerful-critic-in-exile-should-fear-for-his-lifebut-doesnt
"Russian Investigators: Robbers Killed Journalists in CAR" https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/11425-russian-investigators-robbers-killed-journalists-in-car
"Putin Is ‘A Man Of Peace’, Says South Africa’s Jacob Zuma | Channels Television" https://www.channelstv.com/2022/03/07/putin-is-a-man-of-peace-says-south-africas-jacob-zuma/amp/