Wagner Group

The Wagner Group (Russian: Группа Вагнера, tr. Gruppa Vagnera), also known as PMC Wagner[6] (Russian: ЧВК[lower-alpha 1] «Вагнер», tr. ChVK «Vagner»[55]; lit. 'Wagner Private Military Company'), is a Russian paramilitary organization.[6] It is variously described as a private military company (PMC), a network of mercenaries, or a de facto private army of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[6][56] The group operates beyond the law in Russia, where private military companies are officially forbidden.[57][58][56] Because it operates in support of Russian interests, receives equipment from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and uses MoD installations for training, the Wagner Group is said to be a de facto unit of the MoD or Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU.[59] While the Wagner Group itself is not ideologically driven,[60][61] various elements of Wagner have been linked to neo-Nazism and far-right extremism.[6][62][63]

Quick facts: Wagner Group, Also known as, Founder, Leaders... ▼

Wagner Group
Группа Вагнера, ЧВК «Вагнер»
Official logo of the Wagner Group[1][2]
Also known as	Wagnerites,[3] Wagners,[4] Musicians,[5] Orchestra[4]
Founder	Yevgeny Prigozhin[6]
Leaders	Yevgeny Prigozhin Lt. Col. Dmitry Utkin ("Wagner")[6] Col. Konstantin Pikalov[6] Col. Andrei Troshev Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev[7]
Dates of operation	2014–present[8]
Headquarters	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Slogan	"Blood, Honor, Homeland, Courage" (Russian: Кровь, честь, родина, отвага)
Size	50,000+ (December 2022)[9] 8,000 (April 2022)[10] 6,000 (December 2017)[11] 1,000 (March 2016)[12] 250 (2014)[13]
Allies	Russian Armed Forces Russian separatist forces in Donbas Syrian Armed Forces Popular Mobilization Forces IRGC FACA Libyan National Army Rapid Support Forces FADM FAMa
Opponents	Armed Forces of Ukraine Islamic State Al-Nusra Front (2014–2017) Tahrir al-Sham Syrian National Army Free Syrian Army Syrian Democratic Forces Coalition of Patriots for Change Libyan Army Ansar al-Sunna Nusrat al-Islam United States Armed Forces (Battle of Khasham) Russian Volunteer Corps Freedom of Russia Legion
Battles and wars	Crimean Crisis[14][15] War in Donbas (2014–2022) 2014 Il-76 shootdown[16] Battle of Debaltseve[17][18] Syrian civil war 2015–16 Latakia offensive[19] Northern Aleppo offensive[20] Palmyra offensive (March 2016)[18] Palmyra offensive (2017)[21] Central Syria campaign Hama offensive[22] Deir ez-Zor offensive[23][24] Northwestern Syria campaign[25] Battle of Khasham[26][27] Rif Dimashq offensive[28] Operation Dawn of Idlib[29] South Sudanese Civil War (military training and security)[30] CAR Civil War[31][32][33] Bongboto massacre[34] Aïgbado massacre March 2022 attacks Second Libyan Civil War[35][36][37] Western Libya campaign[38] Sudanese Revolution[39] Venezuelan presidential crisis (military training and security)[40][41] Insurgency in Cabo Delgado[42] Mali War[43][44] Moura Massacre[45] Russian invasion of Ukraine Battle of Donbas (2022) Battle of Popasna[46][47] Sievierodonetsk[48][49]-Lysychansk[50] Bakhmut-Soledar
Designated as a terrorist group by	Estonia[51]  France[52]  Lithuania[53]  Ukraine[54]
Flag
Alternative logos
Website	Wagner Center website

It is widely speculated that the Wagner Group is used by the Russian government to allow for plausible deniability, and to obscure the true casualties and financial costs of Russia's foreign interventions.[64] The group came to prominence during the Donbas war in Ukraine, where it helped pro-Russian separatist forces of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics from 2014 to 2015.[6] Its contractors have reportedly taken part in various conflicts around the world, including the civil wars in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, and Mali, often fighting on the side of forces aligned with the Russian government.[6] Wagner operatives have committed war crimes in areas where they are deployed.[6][65][66] The accusations include rape and robbery of civilians,[67] and torturing accused deserters.[68][69]

Wagner has played a significant role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where, among other activities, it has been reportedly deployed to assassinate Ukrainian leaders,[70] and has recruited prisoners for frontline combat.[71][72] In December 2022, United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby claimed Wagner has 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts.[73] Others put the number of recruited prisoners at more than 20,000,[74] with the overall number of PMCs present in Ukraine estimated at 20,000.[75] In 2023, Russia granted combat veteran status to Wagner contractors who took part in the invasion.[76]

After years of denying links to the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close links to Putin, admitted in September 2022 that he "founded" the paramilitary group.[77][78]