An army within the Russian army. This is more or less how we could define the Wagner group, which with the war between Russia and Ukraine has been more visible than ever —while journalistic investigations try to explain what this group is and what its structure is like.
And regarding the tensions reported between the same Russian army and this kind of private military companyHere we are going to review what the Wagner group is and why it is so controversial.
What is the dreaded Wagner group?
In accordance with Euronews, the Wagner group was founded in Russia in 2013 —and then he began to be heard of in the Crimean conflict. You know, the annexation of this region to Russian territory in 2014.
And well… basically it works like a private military companywhich has offered its services in areas of conflict or interest to the Russian government —such as Syria, Libya and even Sudan.
(Here in Mexico, for example, could be seen as a paramilitary groupAlthough the difference is that the Wagner group, experts say, functions as a private army that in turn hires mercenaries or paid soldiers to deploy in war zones, recruit, provide security services or carry out “targeted attacks”).
This military company is seen as a network of “mercenaries” at the service of authoritarian governments. Or at least that is how experts and even political leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron have described it.
Then, pa’ soon: the Wagner group is a private military company that has built a network that operates militarily in different countries Africa, Asia and Europe (in Ukraine) although yes, it has not been officially recognized by the government of Vladimir Putin.
What does it have to do with the Russia-Ukraine war?
As we told you, the Wagner group was known as a result of the conflict in Crimea but it was not the only event that marked him.
This group also sounded during the war in Donbas (Donbas) in Ukraine between 2014 and 2015 —it must be remembered that this conflict arose between pro-Russian separatist groups and the Ukrainian army.
In this chapter, the Wagner group was identified as the one that lent a hand to the separatist groups of the self-declared Donestk and Lugansk republics —which were the same ones for which Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and started the war.
And once the war between Russia and Ukraine came, the Wagner group gained much more relevanceto the point of being known now at the international level, although still without being recognized by the government of Vladimir Putin.
Since then (2022) the Wagner group has also participated in the Russia-Ukraine waralong with the same Russian army and led by Yevgueni Prigozhin.
Yevgeny Prigozhin
We arrived with Yevgeny Prigozhin, friends. And to talk about him, we again quote Euronewssince this means tells that the soldiers for hire or mercenaries for hire by the Wagner group are convicts recruited from prisons or people who are willing—or were pressured—to risk their necks in wars and invasions.
He leader of this group of mercenaries is Yevgeny Prigozhinwho already appears publicly commanding the Wagner group in the war in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin is a businessman from Saint Petersburg. super close to Vladimir Putin.
His story is like a movie, the net: Prigozhin went from being a prisoner in the USSR in the 80s, selling jochos (hot dogs) in Saint Petersburg and being in charge of the food (catering) of the Kremlin in the 90s.
And, finally, owning companies of military, audiovisual, mining and even consultancies —all this while being close to Russia’s political elite and, of course, to Vladimir Putin.
Their interventions in Ukraine have been feared and reported in international media.
But in the midst of all this movement, not everyone is struck by his presence as “armed wing” from army.
Example? The same army of Russia and Valeriy Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
And it is in this context that today there is a fight between the Russian army and the Wagner group. The reason?
The Wagner group is in Bakhmut, a city of Ukraine located in the region of Donetsk.
But the issue here is that Yevgeny Prigozhin has denounced—denounced? Yes— to the Russian army for leaving him without resources to maintain the positions in Bakhmut… and threatening that the thing could even end in a shootout with the Russian troops.
And here we come with the story of the Wagner group, this kind of armed wing of the Russian army, and the fictional one of its leader Yevgueni Prigozhin in the midst of conflicts that have claimed the lives of thousands of people — from Ukraine to Syria.
