According to an analysis by the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in recent years Russia has increasingly resorted to paramilitary units and private military companies to expand its influence. Standing out among these companies is the Wagner Group, founded in 2014 by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, which has risen to prominence in recent days after its mercenaries turned against the Kremlin in a brief rebellion.
The military, political and economic importance of the Wagner Group has grown steadily in recent years. It is not always possible to trace such activities specifically, but it is estimated that the mercenary group operates in around 30 countries around the world, including Syria and Mali.
Europe
Russia’s War in Ukraine
The Wagner Group has been making headlines since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was first identified in 2014 in the Donbass region of Ukraine. Since then, the private army has grown steadily. “Today it is assumed that the [Grupo] “Wagner has 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, making him a key component of the invasion of Ukraine,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said in January.
Among those recruited are mainly Russian prisoners who were recruited on the promise of amnesty. The Wagner group played a particularly important role in the hardfought town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. In May, the group declared victory over Bakhmut and announced that the city would be handed over to the Russian army in the future.
The head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced Bakhmut’s withdrawal in May. Photo: Concord Press Office/ITARTASS/IMAGO
African countries
The Wagner Group is particularly active in African countries. Here the paramilitary unit acts mainly to defend Russian interests, be it by mining raw materials, undermining the position of democratic actors or investing in disinformation campaigns.
Sudan
Sudan is considered one of the key countries for Russian influence in Africa. The Wagner Group has been active there for years and supports the military government. According to the press, apart from uranium deposits, Russia’s main interest would be access to valuable raw materials such as gold, manganese and silicon.
“Prigozhin and his network have used Sudan’s natural resources for personal gain and to expand their influence,” former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. During the regime of dictator Omar alBashir, prospecting licenses for gold mines went to the Russian company MInvest, which was allegedly controlled by the oligarch and Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. This also gave Wagner’s security forces the task of protecting MInvest’s gold mines in Sudan.
mali
Mali’s military junta also relies on Wagner’s Russian mercenaries. Independent advisers to the UN Human Rights Council suspect the fighters are involved in serious crimes in the country, including human rights violations and crimes against humanity. Since 2021 there should have been “continuous and alarming reports” specifically there was talk of “terrible executions, mass graves, torture, rape and sexualised violence, looting, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances”.
According to the United Nations, the Wagner Group is involved in serious crimes in Mali and other countries.
Central African Republic
According to the Russian ambassador, about 1,890 “Russian trainers” are supporting government troops in the civil war in the Central African Republic. The group would have assumed some of President FaustinArchange Touadéra’s personal protection and helped train the country’s army to prepare it for possible coup attempts. In exchange for their military and political support, the group would have access to mineral resources such as diamonds, gold, and timber.
As in Mali, the population of the Central African Republic is suffering from the increase in violence and human rights violations by Wagner employees. In a June 2021 UN report, investigators documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law, including excessive use of force, killings of civilians, rape, torture, school occupations and regular looting.
Arabic states
Syria
In late 2015, members of the Wagner group were first confirmed in Syria after some were killed by antigovernment militia fighters. Russia has been allied with the country’s authoritarian government for many years and has been providing military support to Syrian dictator Bashar alAssad since early 2015. Wagner Group mercenaries actively fight alongside regular Russian soldiers. It is estimated that at its peak the Wagner Group was involved in the war in Syria with over 5,000 fighters. However, with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Russian fighters were withdrawn from the Arab country, including the Wagner group.
Libya
In Libya, the Wagner Group acted as an independent force. Since 2014, after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in a revolution, the country has been effectively divided into two, with a government in the east and one in the west. Wagner Group fighters are said to have been in Libya since then. His job would be to support the government in the east and its de facto boss, former Libyan military chief Khalifa Haftar, in the areas of security and training. In 2019, they openly participated in Haftar’s attack on the western Libyan government in Tripoli.
The Russian Wagner group is said to have laid antitank mines in Libya. Photo: Hazem Turkia/AA/Picture Alliance
There used to be around 2,000 Wagner employees in Libya, but it is unclear how many there are at the moment. The group is believed to have expanded its radius of action into neighboring Sudan.
In both Libya and Syria, Wagner group fighters have been accused of torture, arbitrary murder and other war crimes.
The US Department of Defense understands the mercenary group also has ties to the United Arab Emirates and is being paid by the Arab Confederation to support Haftar in Libya.
Latin America
Venezuela
Apparently, Russia has also sent paramilitary units to Latin America. According to the Portal news agency, members of the Wagner private army flew to Caracas in 2019 to ensure the safety of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Wagner Group is also believed to be helping Venezuela assemble its own elite units.
Venezuela and Russia maintain close military and economic ties. The Russians are one of the Venezuelan government’s biggest creditors, having loaned Caracas around $17 billion since 2006. In this way, Russia would ensure control of the world’s largest oil reserves in Venezuela.
Russia is one of Venezuela’s biggest creditors: Photo: Jesus Vargas/AP/dpa/picture Alliance
Asia
Sri Lanka
According to an analysis by the CSIS, the Wagner Group is not only active in countries on the African continent, but also in Asia. One of the locations would be Sri Lanka, although it is not known exactly how the troops would operate there, as these would involve very complex networks of various Russian paramilitary units.
A report by the US think tank New America shows links between the Russian security company Moran and the Wagner Group. Several Moran employees openly state that they have ties to the group including in Sri Lanka.
Bakhmut: the “Donbass Fortress” on the front line of the war
Before the Russian invasion, Bakhmut had 70,000 inhabitants. Fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops has caused death and destruction in the strategically important Donbass city, but not all civilians have left.
Photo: LIBKOS/AP photo/image alliance
The city before destruction
This photo taken in spring 2022 shows murals on the theme of “Family and Children” in Bachmut. In May, the front line of the war reached the city and gunfire and air raids began. Many houses were badly damaged.
Photo: JORGE SILVA/Portal
“You feel homeless”
Blocks of flats to the east of Bakhmut were the first to be hit by Russian attacks. Today, the neighborhoods resemble those of the devastated port city of Mariupol. “You feel homeless, we have lost everything. There is no going back,” said a resident named Halyna, who was evacuated from Bakhmut and whose house was completely destroyed.
Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Two Bachmut teachers embrace in front of the ruins of their school. On July 24, 2022 it was bombed by the Russian army. The building was badly damaged. There were no dead or injured in the attack.
Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/AA/Picture Alliance
heritage in pieces
Russian bombing destroyed many important historical buildings in Bakhmut, including the Palace of Culture, the former private home of merchant Polyakov from the 1880s, and the former girls’ grammar school. More modern buildings, once Bakhmut’s “visiting card”, were also destroyed.
Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
Preparations for retreat
Oleksandr Hawrys makes final preparations for the transfer of Bakhmut’s wife and two children to Kiev. As of March 7, 2023, fewer than 4,000 people live in the city, which had a prewar population of 73,000.
Photo: Metin Aktas/AA/Picture Alliance
Only the few and the weakest remain
More than 90% of the inhabitants have left Bakhmut and the surrounding area. Some shops and a pharmacy stayed open for months during the slump. Charities and volunteers brought humanitarian aid to townspeople.
Photo: ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images
Despite everything, they fight back
The pregnant Olha and her husband Wlad on January 28, 2023 in front of an air raid shelter in Bachmut. The couple are among the few civilians who have remained in the city despite the heavy fighting. A special pass is currently required to enter Backmut.
Photo: Raphael Lafargue/Abaca/Picture Alliance
Pensioner Valentyna Bondarenko, 79, looks out the window of her apartment in Bakhmut, August 2022. Due to the endless bombing raids and constant danger, many residents of Bakhmut stay in basements and makeshift shelters for months.
Photo: Daniel Carde/Zumapress/picture Alliance
“We’re used to the buzzing and the explosions,” Nina from Bakhmut told DW. Her daughters have gone “to Europe,” but she and her husband plan to stay as long as the Ukrainian army is in town. If the situation worsens, they want to leave the city “so as not to disturb the military when the enemy is hiding behind the houses”.
Photo: Oleksandra Indukhova/DW
In line with humanitarian aid
The humanitarian situation in the city worsened, especially in the last months of 2022 after the offensive of Russian troops on August 1. The power grid was damaged by the attacks and bombings. Food supplies became difficult and mobile telephony collapsed. Even volunteers were attacked.
Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/AA/Picture Alliance
Heavy artillery battles
The main battles for Bakhmut are fought between artillery units. According to military estimates, almost the entire range of artillery and mortars is located in this area. Bachmut is heavily attacked by units of the Russian Private Army Group Wagner. The Ukrainian military continues to resist attacks.
Photo: Bülent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Bakhmut’s Ukrainian flag at the US Congress
On December 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut. From there he took a Ukrainian flag, which he gave to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi two days later during her visit to the US Congress. The flag bears the signatures of soldiers defending Ukraine’s sovereignty on the front lines.
Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo/Picture Alliance
Treatment of the wounded in Bakhmut
The primary duties of military medics on the front lines are to stabilize the wounded, prevent deaths from blood loss and shock, and, in severe cases, ensure transport to hospitals in safer areas inland.
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo/Picture Alliance
The city is 80% in ruins
The photo is from the last days of December 2022. Smoke rises above the ruined houses on the outskirts of Bakhmut. According to local authorities, by March 2023 violent fighting had already destroyed more than 80% of the city’s living space.
Photo: Libkos/AP/Picture Alliance
Destruction recorded by satellite
A satellite image released by Maxar on January 4, 2023 shows the extent of the destruction at Bakhmut. “The city has been the center of fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent months, and images show significant damage to buildings and infrastructure,” the aerospace company said.
Photo: Maxar Technologies/Picture Alliance/AP
This February 13, 2023 photo taken by an AP drone shows the extent of the destruction caused by the fighting. Entire rows of houses were destroyed, only the outer walls and damaged facades remain. Roofs, ceilings and floors have collapsed, snow is piling up in the ruins.
Photo: AP Photo/Picture Alliance
A Ukrainian soldier stands in front of a graffiti in the city center that reads “Bakhmut loves Ukraine”. Although the political and military leadership of Ukraine decided to continue defending the site, NATO does not rule out the possibility of Bakhmut falling, although this does not necessarily mean a turning point in the war.
Photo: Libkos/AP Photo/Image Alliance