They sow terror wherever they go. The mercenaries of the Wagner group operate in Ukraine in parallel with the Russian army. They are even the only ones who are advancing the lines today, when Moscow’s forces are retreating on all the other fronts in the face of Ukrainian counter-offensives.
Wagner is a private armed militia created in 2014 in the Donbass. At that time a war opposed the Ukrainian government to pro-Russian separatists supported by Russia in eastern Ukraine. The paramilitary organization was founded by Yevgueni Progojine, a close friend of Vladimir Putin, to support Moscow’s action. If the Russian president has always denied the existence of this group and its links with Russia, its leader and founder admitted on September 27 to being at the head of the group of mercenaries. Today, this militia has gained influence with the head of the Kremlin and media prominence. It even opened its first official HQ in Saint Petersburg.
Well known for their abuses against civilians, these mercenaries have also been present in Syria since 2015. They are also found in the Libyan chaos. And more recently, Wagner has extended his strategic, military and economic domination in Africa, notably in Mali, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and even Mozambique…