Wagner PMCs were first active in February 2014 inCrimea[4][5] duringRussia's 2014 annexation of the peninsula where they operated in line with regular Russian army units, disarmed theUkrainian Army and took control over facilities. The takeover of Crimea was almost bloodless.[6] The PMCs, along with the regular soldiers, were called "polite people" at the time[7] due to their well-mannered behavior. They kept to themselves, carried weapons that were not loaded, and mostly made no effort to interfere with civilian life.[8] Another name for them was "little green men" since they were masked, wearing unmarked green army uniforms and their origin was initially unknown.[9]
After the takeover of Crimea,[6] some 300 PMCs[10] went to theDonbas region of eastern Ukraine wherea conflict started betweenUkrainian government and pro-Russian forces. With their help, the pro-Russian forces were able to destabilize government security forces in the region, immobilize operations of local government institutions, seize ammunition stores and take control of towns.[6] The PMCs conducted sneak attacks, reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering and accompaniedVIPs.[11] In October 2017, the UkrainianSBU claimed it had established the involvement of the Wagner Group in theJune 2014 Il-76 airplane shoot-down atLuhansk International Airport that killed 40 Ukrainian paratroopers, as well as a crew of nine.[12] Russian and Serbian "mercenaries" were already reported being involved in the summer 2014 battle for the airport, although it was not stated if they were linked to Wagner back then.[13][14]
According to the SBU, Wagner PMCs were initially deployed to eastern Ukraine on 21 May 2014, and the service was planning to filecharges onDmitry Utkin, the alleged founder of the Wagner Group, to the office of theProsecutor General of Ukraine.[15] The PMCs also participated in the early 2015Battle of Debaltseve, which involved one of the heaviest artillery bombardments in recent history, as well as reportedly hundreds of regular Russian soldiers.[16] The PMCs were supported by severalKAMAZ-43269 "Vystrel"MRAPs.[17] During fighting near the town, their logistics platoon was reported to had extracted several destroyedKAMAZ-43269 "Dozor" MRAPs belonging to the Russian military, during which the platoon's commander was wounded.[18] Several PMCs were killed during the clashes.[19][20] The battle for Debaltseve ended in a decisive victory over Ukrainian forces.[16] According to a Wagner PMC, Dmitry Utkin himself was wounded during the deployment to Ukraine, getting a splinter in his liver.[21]
Following the end of major combat operations, the PMCs were reportedly given the assignment to kill dissident pro-Russian commanders that were acting in a rebellious manner, according to the Russian nationalistSputnik and Pogrom internet media outlet and the SBU.[22][6] According toSputnik and Pogrom, in one raid, they killed more than 10 militia fighters.[6] In another operation in early January 2015, the PMCs disarmed without any loss of life theOdessa brigade of theLuhansk People's Republic (LPR), after surrounding their base inKrasnodon with the support of tanks and artillery, and demanding the separatists disarm and return to their homes.[23]
According to the SBU and the Russian media, Wagner also forced the reorganization and disarmament ofRussian Cossack and other formations.[11][24] The PMCs acted mostly in the LPR,[6] for whose authorities they reportedly conducted four political killings of separatist commanders[5][6] such asAleksey Mozgovoy,Pavel Dremov,Alexander Bednov and others.[25] The killed commanders were in a conflict with the LPR's president,Igor Plotnitsky.[11][26] The LPR accused Ukraine of committing the assassinations,[26][27] while unit members of the commanders believed it was the LPR authorities who were behind the killings.[27][28][29]
In late November 2017, the Ukrainian SBU published what they said were intercepted audio recordings that proved a direct link betweenDmitry Utkin and Igor Kornet, the Interior Minister of the LPR, who was said to have personally led the initiative of eliminating dissident commanders.[30] In early June 2018, the SBU also published telephone conversations between Utkin and Igor Plotnitsky from January 2015, as well as conversations between Utkin and Russian GRU officer Oleg Ivannikov, who was using the pseudonym Andrei Ivanovich. Ivannikov, according to a Wagner PMC, supervised both their forces, as well as that of the LPR separatists, during the fighting in 2014 and 2015.[17] Wagner left Ukraine and returned to Russia in autumn of 2015, with the start of theRussian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War.[5]
In late November 2017, a power struggle erupted in the separatist Luhansk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine between LPR President Igor Plotnitsky and the LPR's Interior Minister,Igor Kornet, who Plotnitsky ordered to be dismissed. During the turmoil, armed men in unmarked uniforms took up positions in the center of Luhansk.[31][32] Some of the men belonged to Wagner, according to theJanes company.[33] In the end, Plotnitsky resigned and LPR Security MinisterLeonid Pasechnik was named acting leader "until the next elections."[34] Plotnitsky reportedly fled to Russia[35] and the LPR's People's Council unanimously approved Plotnitsky's resignation.[36]
In an interview with the Russian news siteThe Insider in early December 2017, veteran Russian officerIgor Strelkov confirmed that Wagner PMCs had returned to Luhansk from Syria. Strelkov had a key role in the annexation of Crimea by Russia, as well as in the early stages of the war in the east of Ukraine where he was one of the most senior commanders.[37] He was pulled out of eastern Ukraine in August 2014, reportedly because the Russian authorities felt he was too much of a liability,[38] after which he started opposing the Kremlin.[39]
In mid-May 2018, theSecurity Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that about 100 Wagner PMCs could possibly arrive in Donetsk in the coming days to support the pro-Russian separatistDonetsk People's Republic (DPR).[40] As of October, a few dozen PMCs remained in the Luhansk region, according to the SBU, to kill any people considered "undesirable by Russia".[41]
Fighter of the Wagner Group captured in March 2022 in Ukraine
The Times reported that the Wagner Group flew in more than 400 contractors from the Central African Republic in mid- to late-January 2022 on amission to assassinate Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his government, and thus to prepare the ground for Russia to take control for theRussian invasion of Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022. The Ukrainian government received information on this early on 26 February, after which it declared a 36-hour "hard" curfew to sweep the capital for "Russian saboteurs".[42] The government said that the previous day its forces had killed 60 saboteurs in Kyiv who were posing as a territorial defence unit.[43] Soon after the government received the information, heavy fighting erupted in western and northeastern Kyiv,[44] with Ukraine claiming to have repelled an attack on a military base.[45] By the morning, Ukrainian forces had secured the capital.[46] The United States described Russian forces that entered Kyiv as "reconnaissance elements".[47] Two days later, a US official stated that there were "some indications" that Wagner was being employed, but it was not clear where or how much.[48] By 3 March, according toThe Times, Zelenskyy had survived three assassination attempts, two of which were allegedly orchestrated by the Wagner Group.[49] On 8 March, the Ukrainian military claimed they had killed the first Wagner PMC members since the start of the Russian invasion,[50] the first of whom was named on 13 March.[51]
During the invasion, the Ukrainian military said the Wagner Group had rebranded itself asLiga[52] and referred to them as such in their reporting.[53][54]UNIAN reported that Ukrainian soldiers nicknamed the Wagner PMCs "The Musicians".[55]
In late March, it was expected that the number of Wagner PMCs in Ukraine would be tripled from around 300 at the beginning of the invasion to at least 1,000, and that they were to be focused on theDonbas region of eastern Ukraine.[56] It was reported that Wagner Group PMCs played a leading role in theBucha massacre of civilians, according to Germany'sFederal Intelligence Service (BND), and that intercepted incriminating radio communications suggested the killings were part of a Russian plan to instill fear in the population, thus reducing the will to resist.[57]
On 8 April, the Ukrainian military said that the Wagner Group was engaged with an artillery strike atPopasna and multiple members were killed.[55] Mid-April,Vitaly Milonov, deputy Duma member, posted a picture onVKontakte of himself with Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Donbas region or on the Ukraine-Russia border. It was thought by theInstitute for the Study of War that Prigozhin was present to organize recruitment and funding for the Wagner Group.[58]
A pilot belonging to the Wagner Group shot down and captured in 2022 in Ukraine
In late April, during a Russian military offensive to take the remainder of the Donbas region dubbed theBattle of Donbas, Ukraine claimed between 20 and 25 "Libyan and Syrian mercenaries" were killed duringfighting in the town ofPopasna. The Libyans and Syrians were operating under the umbrella of the Wagner Group as part of a force numbering between 300 and 500 fighters, according to Ukraine.[59] At the start of May, a video was released of Wagner Group PMCs taking part in street fighting in Popasna.[60] On 7 May, Russian forces launched an operation to break through Ukrainian lines in the city, with Wagner PMCs involved in the assault.[61] Russian troops captured Popasna the same day.[62] More than two weeks later, Wagner PMCs were also involved in the capture ofSvitlodarsk.[63] During fighting near Popasna on 20 May, retired Major GeneralKanamat Botashev of theRussian Air Force was shot down while flying aSukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft,[64] reportedly for the Wagner Group.[65] Eight days earlier, another Su-25 was shot down over Popasna, piloted by a retired Belarusian Colonel, who was also said to have been employed by a private military company.[66] A third Su-25 was also shot down near Svitlodarsk mid-June, with the Wagner pilot captured.[67][68][69]
In early June, a Ukrainian sniper was reported to have shot and killed Wagner member Vladimir Andonov, call sign "Vakha" and dubbed "The Executioner", near Kharkiv. Andonov took part in the initial conflict in the Donbas region in 2014, as well as supposedly Wagner's deployments to Syria and Libya. He was accused of killing three Ukrainian soldiers who were taken as prisoners following the pro-Russian takeover of the town ofLohvynove, as well as for taking part in a civilian massacre in Espia, Libya.[70] Meanwhile, around the same time, Ukraine claimed its forces destroyed a Wagner Group military base in the town ofKadiivka, killing 22 PMCs.[71] Between late May and late June, the Wagner Group took part in thebattle of Sievierodonetsk, being part of Russia's main assault force.[72][73] In late June, Wagner also took part in theBattle of Lysychansk.[74]
During the invasion, Wagner PMCs also trained Russian servicemen before they were sent to the frontline.[75]
On 15 August 2022, Ukraine claimed to have struck a building in Popasna being used as HQ by the Wagner Group withHIMARS artillery. Serhiy Hayday, the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, said that the location was revealed by Russian journalist Sergei Sreda. The image posted online showed a sign giving a street in Popasna, Luhansk. A pro-Moscow blogger, called Kotenok, wrote on Telegram: "A strike was carried out on one of the Wagner PMC locations in Popasna. Sources in Donbas confirm that. Probably 'Himars'. Ukrainian sources report the death of Prigozhin – we don't confirm that."[76] Several months later, on 11 December, Ukraine'sgovernor of Luhansk,Serhiy Haidai, claimed that Wagner had suffered "significant losses" after aLuhansk headquarters in aZhdanov guest house (inKadiivka) had been destroyed.[77][78]
During thefighting at Bakhmut in late September, senior Wagner commanderAleksey Nagin was killed. Nagin previously fought with Wagner in Syria and Libya, and before that took part in theSecond Chechen War and theRusso-Georgian War. He was posthumously awarded the title ofHero of the Russian Federation.[79][80] On 22 December, Pentagon's John Kirby claimed that around 1,000 Wagner fighters were killed in fighting atBakhmut during the previous weeks, including some 900 recruited convicts. According to Kirby, the Wagner Group had also received a shipment of weapons fromNorth Korea.[81]
In mid-January 2023, the Wagner Group captured the salt mine town ofSoledar after heavy fighting. During the battle, Wagner reportedly surrounded Ukrainian troops in the center of the town.[82][83] Hundreds of both Russian and Ukrainian troops were killed in thebattle for Soledar.[84] Several days later, Wagner captured Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut, after which they continued advancing west of the settlement.[85][86][87][88] Early in the battle forKlischiivka, a WagnerSukhoi Su-24 bomber was reportedly shot down, with both pilots killed.[89] Another Su-24 was shot down near Bakhmut in mid-February 2023, with the fate of the crew unknown.[90] Although according to other reports the aircraft was only damaged and managed to return to its base.[91]
In early July, the Russian news outletiStories reported that the Wagner Group had been recruiting in twoSaint Petersburg prisons. The recruiters told inmates that they would be sent to the Donbas region and that "almost nobody will return". The inmates were offered 200,000 rubles andamnesty for six months of "voluntary service", or 5 million for their relatives if they died. According to relatives of the inmates, the contracts were not recorded anywhere and the inmates would be sent to the war without theirpassports.[92][93] Subsequently, theUK Ministry of Defence stated in an intelligence report that Russia was maybe considering recruiting prisoners into the Wagner Group.[94] The following month,Mediazona reported that it had received messages from Russian prison inmates alleging that Yevgeny Prigozhin was personally recruiting them to fight in Ukraine. According to two inmates fromRybinsk andPlavsk, Prigozhin promised inmates apardon and a salary of 100,000 rubles per month and a bonus of roughly similar sum, or 5 million rubles for an "honorable" death. Prigozhin told inmates that they would not be used ascannon fodder, saying the likelihood of death is 15%, based on an earlier "experimental" deployment of Saint Petersburg prison inmates. After the recruiters left, both prisons were cut off from theZonatelecom system of communication, leaving the inmates only with illicit phones. Approximately 300–350 prison inmates signed up to fight in Ukraine by this point.[95][96][97] In a prison recruitment speech video published on 14 September, Prigozhin said that prisoners have been participating in the invasion of Ukraine since 1 July.[98] During another speech in Chelyabinsk prison in November 2022, according to an inmate cited byiStories, Prigozhin instructed the potential recruits that if they captured any Ukrainian soldiers they could do whatever they wanted with them: take them as prisoners, torture them, mock them, or cut their throats.[99]
Ukrainian soldiers and former convictsprisoners of war described the use of recruited convicts as disposable. At theBattle of Bakhmut, the convicts were used as "bait", as poorly armed and briefly trained convicts were sent inhuman wave attacks to draw out and expose Ukrainian positions to attack by more experienced units or artillery.[100][101] A Wagner Group deserter claimed the inmates were formed into assault groups that he described as "meat" and that 90% of them die in the fighting.[102] Similarly, the United States government claimed that 90% of Wagner battlefield casualties are inmates.[103]
On 5 January 2023, the first group of 24 prisoners[106] recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine finished their six-month contracts and were released with full amnesty for their past crimes. Yevgeny Prigozhin praised their efforts, stating that they should be treated with respect and advised them: "Don't drink a lot, don't use drugs, don't rape women, do not get up to no good".[107]
On 19 October 2022,Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, announced that he had begun the construction of a defense line.[108]
The aim is to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing towards the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, which wasannexed by Russia in September.[109][110]
In September 2022, the group's Task Force Rusich, known to be active in combat in Ukraine, advocated for war crimes in its Telegram channel, calling for "removing body parts" and "destruction of prisoners on the spot".The Guardian reported that the Rusich message's "key points also include explicit instructions to murder captives after interrogation and encourages forcing the families of murdered captives to pay Rusich for the coordinates of their loved ones' bodies." According to the United Nations-supportedTech Against Terrorism director Adam Hadley, "the actions of Rusich in the conflict demonstrate the concerning prominence of neo-Nazi groups committing atrocities on behalf of the Kremlin."[111][112]
On 13 November 2022, a video was published, showing the Wagner Group executing its ex-fighterYevgeny Nuzhin for treason, smashing his head with asledgehammer. On the video, Nuzhin claims that he was captured on the streets ofKyiv by unknown people and brought to a basement, though concerns for validity of his words were raised by Ukrainian news groups.[113] A spokesman to the Ukrainian President's Office claimed Nuzhin had agreed to take part in aprisoner exchange.[114] He previously gave an interview to a Ukrainian journalist where he confirmed that he was recruited in a prison. Prigozhin said that "the show demonstrates that [Nuzhin] didn't find happiness in Ukraine, but met ill, yet just people". He also called this a "great show" and "amazing director work", expressing "hope" that "no animals were harmed in the production".[115]
On 13 November 2023, it was reported that four former inmates who fought for the Wagner Group in eastern Ukraine, have been receiving calls and text messages offering them military contracts. Three of the veterans reported that specificallyRosgvardia was trying to recruit them. A text message said: "Wagner is officially becoming a unit of Rosgvardia.... The entire structure, methods of work and commanders remain the same." Other reports indicate that former Wagner fighters have joined Chechen Akhmat units, whilst still wearing Wagner patches.[118]
According toBellingcat's briefing toBritish MPs of the CommonsForeign Affairs Select Committee on 21 April 2022, close to 3,000 of the 8,000 members of Wagner in Ukraine had been killed.[119] However, according toBBC News Russian, at the that time there were no reliable data on the Wagner Group's losses.[120] A number of Belarusian soldiers who had signed contracts with Russianprivate military companies had been killed during the invasion.[121] A subsequent US estimate in early August, put the number of Wagner PMCs killed in the invasion at 5,000,[122] while the Ukrainian Center for Analytical Studies and Countering Hybrid Threats (CCHT)NGO reported that by its count between 800 and 1,000 had been killed by early November.[123] In early January 2023, an updated US estimate put the number of Wagner PMC casualties at more than 4,100 killed and 10,000 wounded.[124] Mid-February 2023, an updated US estimate put the number of Wagner PMC casualties at about 30,000, of which about 9,000 killed. The US estimated that half of those deaths occurred since the middle of December, with 90 percent of Wagner fighters which had been killed since December being convicts.[125] Concurrently, theUK Ministry of Defence estimated that convicts recruited by Wagner had experienced a casualty rate of up to 50 percent.[126]
^Ihor Huskov, the Chief of the SBU staff, 8 October 2018 – "As for today, there are the recruitment centers in Donbas, while mostly citizens of Luhansk region come there. Also, we have the information on the place of the current deployment of the small unit from the membership of "Wagner" private military company but it does not surpass a few dozens of people." According to him, this unit deals with the murder of people in occupied territories who are undesirable by Russia.
^Popeski, Ron (11 December 2022)."Ukraine regional official says strike hits Wagner group headquarters". Reuters.Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved12 December 2022.Gaidai has previously reported strikes by Ukrainian forces on other targets in Luhansk region, including on a Wagner headquarters in the town of Popasna in August.
