Wagner Group, Mercenaries Against Their Masters
Wagner Group mercenaries staged an uprising against Russia. His work in the military world over the last decade has made this mercenary one not to be underestimated.
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Local residents walk in front of the crowd of the Wagner Group, Russian mercenaries, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on Saturday (24/6/2023). Wagner launched a coup against the government of President Vladimir Putin.
President Putin and the military top brass Russia received an unpleasant surprise on Saturday morning, June 24, 2023. In a video uploaded on the Telegram channel, leader Wagner The group, Yevgeny Prighozhin, has emotionally declared that he will fight against the Russian armed forces. He called this action "retaliation" for the attack on a large number of Wagner troops which he accused of being carried out by the Russian military.
This is not the first time Prighozhin has expressed his disappointment at Moscow. On June 8, 2023, Prighozhin complained about the support of Russian troops on a front which was increasingly vulnerable due to Ukrainian counterattacks. According to Prigozhin, the Russian military must send an additional 200,000 troops at this time to hold back the onslaught of Ukrainian troops. However, the opposite happened, with many Russian troops fleeing as the waves of Ukrainian troops advanced on their positions.
The escalation of the Wagner Group certainly surprised many parties. The reason is that Wagner is one of the key actors behind a number of Russia's victories on the battlefield in Ukraine. For years, Wagner Group forces have also been reported to be fighting in several countries for Russia's interests.
Wagner's defection has thus become a focus of international attention due to the security crisis it has sparked. Moreover, Wagner is reported to have captured Rostov-on-Don, one of the important cities in southern Russia. Wagner's armed convoy has also been reported to have been seen at various other points in Russia. Wagner's forces have threatened to march towards Moscow in the near future.
The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary army, seized the city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday (24/6/2023). Wagner launched a coup against President Vladimir Putin's government.
However, just one day after the rebellion, Prigozhin announced that he would withdraw all of his troops back to their camp in Ukraine. He did this to prevent further bloodshed. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is said to be behind Prigozhin's dramatic decision after negotiating with him.
The Wagner Group is a network of private military companies from Russia. Initially, Wagner was allegedly founded by a veteran of the Russian special forces, Dmitry Utkin (Kompas, 18/2/2018). However, after years of denial, in September 2022 Prigozhin finally admitted that he had founded the Wagner Group on 1 May 2014 (Reuters, 26/9/2022).
The figure of Prigozhin himself is a close associate of President Putin. According to Al Jazeera, Prigozhin was initially a former inmate who once sold hot dogs on the roadside. Now, he is the owner of a large catering company contracted to provide food for the Russian government and military troops. His catering company is also often used to fulfill the needs of the president's banquets with foreign guests. As a result, he is often referred to as "Putin's chef."
The relationship between Wagner and Russia is quite complex. According to the report from the Senior Researcher of the German Foreign Council, Adras Racz, the Wagner Group is not registered in Russia and in other countries, making it non-existent de yure. Law in Russia until recently also prohibited the existence of private military companies. However, in December 2022 the Wagner Group was registered as a legal entity as a consulting firm and opened a magnificent headquarters in St Petersburg, Russia.
A Wagner Group soldier, a Russian mercenary military, is on guard while taking over the city of Rostov-on-Don, on Saturday (24/6/2023). President Vladimir Putin called the military coup by Wagner a stab in the back against his government.
Military action
Although not officially recognized, Wagner's involvement cannot be separated from Russia's military actions over the past decade. Wagner's activities on the battleground began in 2014 during the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report stated that Wagner participated in the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Wagner also carried out operations to support pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Furthermore, Wagner has become active in other countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East. Al Jazeera's report mentions that Wagner's troops are present in Syria, Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Most of these countries have close ties to Russian diplomatic policies.
Wagner was involved in at least two civil wars. First, on the civil war in Syria and then on the Libyan civil war. In 2015, Wagner was deployed to assist the Bashar al-Assad regime. It was previously known that Assad is a close ally of Putin. The Kremlin finally deployed its troops directly to Syria shortly after Wagner entered. In Libya, Wagner's involvement since 2019 in the civil war against the government of Fayez Sarraj is seen as part of Russia's expansion of influence in North Africa and the Middle East (Kompas, 2/6/2020).
The paramilitary Wagner forces raised the Russian flag after successfully conquering the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Tuesday (20/5/2023).
In addition to actively engaging in combat, the Wagner Group also often provides security and training services. The Council on Foreign Relations reported that Wagner was recruited to provide training to Sudanese forces and provide protection for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir since 2017.
Similar actions were also taken by Wagner in the Central African Republic and Mali. Through these contracts, it is alleged that Wagner obtained concessions over the natural resources used as their main source of funds.
Entering 2022, Wagner is increasingly demonstrating its abilities on the large-scale battlefield. The Wagner unit has been actively involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022. The name Wagner is gaining more recognition through battles in Bakhmut, Ukraine.
In late May 2023, Wagner claimed to have captured Bakhmut from Ukrainian troops after months of fighting. However, the victory cost Wagner many losses. An estimated 20,000-30,000 Wagner troops died during the fighting (AP, 25/5/2023).
The location map of Rostov city, Russia, where the Wagner mercenary troops launched a rebellion against Moscow on Saturday (6/24/2023).
War crimes
However, Wagner is not only known for being able to win battles. They are also under scrutiny for atrocities and war crimes in the various places where they operate. In 2021, Wagner was sued regarding the case of the beheading of a Syrian citizen in 2017 (Kompas, 16/3/2021). Then, in October 2021, the UN reported that Wagner committed rape and sexual assault in the Central African Republic. Wagner is also suspected of being behind the massacre in Bucha, Ukraine, in March 2022.
The international community has actually established rules prohibiting mercenaries through the 1949 Geneva Convention and the 1989 International Convention. However, Wagner has proven that they can thrive in the gray area. Starting with 5,000 small-scale paramilitary soldiers in 2014, Wagner has grown into a force of around 50,000 members with complete combat equipment by 2023.
Also read: Ukrainian Cross-border Attacks Begin to Affect Russia's Dictations
It is suspected that the UN's inability to maintain world peace has contributed to creating the need for the services of private security providers such as Wagner (Kompas, 26/5/2023). Without having to recognize them, a number of countries also use them to settle various interests secretly. However, their existence in the gray area makes it difficult for them to be held accountable for the crimes they have committed.
Despite all of that, Wagner's defection also shows that there is never a guarantee that a group of mercenaries will always obey their master. (KOMPAS Research)
Also read: The Moral Spirit of Russian Citizens Weakens in Response to the Results of the War
