During the war in Ukraine U.S. officials claim to have seen some indications of Russia’s Wagner Group being involved in the war.
Although the Russian side has always denied the involvement of Wagner forces, this mercenary group has always kept the West close and wary.
What is a Wagner Group?
According to Sky News, Wagner Security Group, whose core is believed to be Russian ex-soldiers, has been accused by Western media of waging “secret wars” in Ukraine, Syria and the Central African Republic (CAR). ) Lately year.
Wagner is a group of mercenaries with strict rules regarding communication and use of social networks. Wagner members had their phones confiscated while on duty and were prohibited from posting information about military activities.
The group’s name is attributed to the founder – Dmitry Utkin, a former colonel who served in the Russian special forces – named after the Jewish composer Richard Wagner. Utkin is said to have admired the composer very much.
However, in August 2017, the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak speculated that Utkin may be just a front figure for this military group, while the real head of Wagner could be a businessman. Russian Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin – supposedly the head of the Wagner Group.
Prigozhin is one of many oligarchs recently sanctioned by the West for Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, although he has always denied any connection to the Wagner Group.
The company has at least 6,000 employees and is said to be registered in Argentina, with offices in Saint Petersburg and Hong Kong.
Until now, the West still believes that Wagner mercenaries are present in all battlefields from Syria, Libya, Mali and many other hot spots around the world, helping to increase Russia’s influence to overcome local rivals. politics like America. For its part, Moscow has denied these allegations.
According to Western media research, the basic salary of Wagner mercenaries is about 180,000 rubles per month (equivalent to $ 2,100 / month).
Sorcha MacLeod, head of the United Nations working group on mercenaries, told the Economist that from a legal perspective, the Wagner Group does not appear to exist.
The Russian government has always denied any involvement with this Group and insists it does not exist legally because private military contractors have no legitimacy in Russia.
Awesome warriors?
For years, Ukraine has accused the Wagner Corporation of being involved in fighting in Luhansk and Donetsk, tense areas in eastern Ukraine.
Wagner mercenaries are believed to have been deployed in Ukraine at the outset of the conflict.
Sean McFate, an American former private military contractor, now a security consultant and war strategist, has revealed some information about mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
“Their goal will be to cause chaos and mental intimidation. Usually they will divide into small groups of 3 to 8 people and will not wear military uniforms but just pretend to be normal people,” this person described. describe.
According to McFate, many people look down on mercenaries’ abilities due to their Hollywood movies, but the Wagner warriors are “no joke”. They were level 1 mercenaries – professional soldiers, not bad guys.
According to McFate, Wagner mercenaries can fend off even the most sophisticated enemies.
“In 2018, about 400 Wagner mercenaries fought directly with Delta Force – the most elite US special forces group in eastern Syria. It was 4 hours of inconclusive battle,” the strategist recounted.
In the end, the Americans used air power – Apache helicopters, drones, AC-130 fighters to overwhelm Wagner mercenaries from the air. But if Wagner mercenaries can fight Delta special forces for four hours, imagine what they can do elsewhere,” McFate said.
According to McFate, Wagner mercenaries operate in extreme secrecy. “They are a new type of lethal weapon and very dangerous.”
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here
