2023-06-24 19:51:47
Led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who only recently admitted to having founded it, the Wagner company – which today challenged Moscow – has so far been a network of organizations supplying mercenaries with Kremlin approval. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Csis) in Washington, it has operated in at least 30 countries and has at least two training camps in Russia. Its “management and operations are closely interconnected with the Russian military and intelligence community”.
The Wagner, having arrived 200 meters from Moscow, stopped its march and turned back with the mercenaries who returned to their bases in the evening.
The United States considers Wagner “a significant transnational criminal organization” and has placed it under sanctions. Prigozhin’s organization played a prominent role in Ukraine, as well as abroad. Back in 2014, Wagner participated in training, organizing and supplying weapons to the pro-Russian militias of Donbass. According to the CSIS, the organization has also been involved in fighting and intelligence gathering in the Donbass, as well as being involved in the Russian occupation of Crimea.
Last year, after the Russian invasion, Wagner returned to the field in Ukraine. Faced with high Russian military casualties, the organization has been recruiting fighters from inmates of Russian prisons and since last week has been playing a leading role in the fighting in Bakhmut.
Prigozhin used Bakhmut’s battle to boost his image and Wagner has become “a center of power rivaling the Russian military and ministries,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in January. Prigozhin, Kirby reported, had also had North Korea send weapons for use in Ukraine.
In the last eight years, recalls the CSIS, Wagner’s mercenaries have also been employed in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Mali, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique and Venezuela. They are often used to ensure the security of Russian interests, but also of host governments, and have occasionally been involved in fighting.
In Syria, where Russia has been on the side of President Assad in the civil war since 2015, Wagner protects Russian and Syrian government installations. Her mercenaries participated in the battle to regain control of Palmyra. In 2018, when the United States and its allies responded to an attack near Deir el Zour by forces close to Assad, the Americans killed a hundred fighters, including Wagner mercenaries. In Africa, Wagner has been to 18 countries and is present in Libya, where she supports General Khalifa Haftar. In Mali, after the withdrawal of Western military missions, Wagner provides security to the presidential palace and participates in missions against jihadist groups. In turbulent Central Africa, Wagner supports the government in exchange for licenses to exploit gold and diamond mines.
#role #Ukraine #Africa #Syria