Shortly before Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, the Wagner group played no part in the plans of General Vladimir Alexeyev, the Russian intelligence agency GRU, in charge of the invasion. When boss Yevgeny Prigozhin wanted to offer the services of his mercenaries, Alexeyev turned him down. This is reported by the Spiegel “.
Wagner boss Prigozchin was dismissed at the beginning of the war
Instead, the general placed his trust in Anatoly Karasi, former head of reconnaissance at Wagner. This should be used with his mercenary company Redut in the Ukraine. Redut is also said to have recruited thousands of Wagner mercenaries – a major setback for Prigozhin, who is considered the market leader on the mercenary market.
Prigozhin is said to have visited the GRU headquarters in Moscow as early as January 2022 and loudly complained to Alexeyev and even threatened to kill his rival Karasi. Alexeyev is said to have led the Wagner boss to an office where the Redut boss was already waiting. A clear signal to Prigozhin.
Because of Russian war bad luck, Wagner went to the Ukraine war
However, due to Russian bad luck, the tide turned in Prigozhin’s favor shortly after the start of the aggressive war. He mobilized his Wagner mercenaries by withdrawing them from Africa and Syria. At the same time, Redut suffered heavy losses. Up to 90 percent of the mercenaries are said to have died in the first fighting in Ukraine.
Barely a month after the invasion began, the Wagner Group officially entered the war on March 19. While Prigozhin and Alexeyev had hardly had any contact in the weeks before, 22 telephone calls took place between the two in the first eleven weeks of the war. Prigozhin was back in business. He was even given powers to hire mercenaries in Russian prisons.
In the months that followed, Wagner became the best-known and probably the most powerful mercenary group in the world. The Redut group is also still active on the Bachmut front, but probably not with as many fighters as Wagner. Prigozhin has now clearly won the race against his ex-colleague Karasij.
