In Russia, advertising campaigns give the impression that the Russian army in Ukraine is defending Russia.Bild: AP / Dmitri Lovetsky
Politics
The Wagner mercenary group is the shadow army of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is Putin’s man for the rough. The Kremlin boss lets him do his thing as if this shadow army had long held the scepter of power alone. In the past, Putin even claimed that the Russian state had nothing to do with the Wagner Group.
Just recently, Prigozhin, also known as Putin’s cook, asked the Russian Defense Ministry for help. The Wagner boss expects a major Ukrainian offensive in the coming days or weeks in the heavily contested city of Bakhmut. According to Putin’s cook, the Wagner mercenaries are said to be the only military units on site. The Russian army is elsewhere Front distributed.
The private army has been involved in numerous brutal battles since the outbreak of the war – and even before the Russian invasion, the group arguably ran Russia’s dirtier business. In the meantime, however, the Wagner group is no longer the only mercenary group on the Russian side.
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Mercenary group “Convoy” is said to be active in Cherson
Like the Russian medium “Important Stories” reported, the governor of the Russia annexed Crimean Peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, who hired the private military unit “Convoy”. The mercenaries are said to be currently active in the Cherson region – According to “Important Stories”, the group initially consisted of 300 People files.
The head of the mercenaries is said to be Konstantin Pikalow. Pikalow is no stranger. He is a former leader of the Wagner group and is considered a confidante of Prigozhin. As the Russian medium reports, Pikalow is said to have even been active for the Wagner group in Madagascar and the Central African Republic.
The Wagner group has more than just a military interest in Africa
The activities of the Russian Wagner Group in several African countries are an open secret. What is far less known, however, is that the notorious mercenary group also has a political and economic agenda in Africa follows a new report organized by the Global Initiative against cross-border crime (Global Initiative) shows.
Yevgeny Prigozhin is the head of the Wagner private mercenary group.Bild: AP / Uncredited
On the one hand, Wagner wanted to create anti-West sentiment and, on the other hand, to benefit economically, says the report’s lead author, Julia Stanyard. It is important for Wagner to find alternative routes for the transport of raw materials and Waffen to accomplish.
A prime example of Wagner’s strategy is the Central African Republic (CAR), where President Faustin Archange-Touadéra has given the group access to mineral resources such as diamonds, gold and timber in exchange for military and political support. Wagner is now so firmly anchored in the ZAR that the group is literally taking over the state, says Stanyard.
Prigozhin and Pikalov must have been close confidants
Pikalov is said to be the “key figure” in Prigozhin’s “Africa Project”. At least that’s the conclusion reached by the research collective “Bellingcat” and journalists from the Russian Internet newspaper “The Insider” and “Spiegel”. The trust between Prigozhin and Pikalov is said to be very close.
According to the news website “Meduza”, the new mercenary group “Convoy” is an unofficial combat reserve of the army. The news portal reports “T-Online.de“. The members of the force are said to have signed a contract with both the private military company and the Russian Ministry of Defense.
(With material from the dpa)
