Wagner is just one of many: These Russian mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever

The war in Ukraine is also a mercenary war. When Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has attracted most media attention for months, something is easily overlooked: in his shadow, a host of other private battlegroups, mostly just as vicious, are planning mischief.

Ten days ago, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu issued a decree requiring all mercenaries to sign a new contract that would place them under the Ministry of Defense in a desperately belated effort to halt proliferation and restore a unified command structure. to get.

According to Ukrainian media reports, about 25 to 30 of the 37 existing so-called PMCs (Private Military Companies) are fighting on the Russian side in the occupied territories. The total number of mercenaries deployed there will likely be in the order of 50,000 men. And their number is growing. There are three reasons for this.

First, it’s a lucrative business: the year before the Russian invasion, Prigozhin’s annual profit was estimated at $250 million. The huge human losses in Ukraine and the desperate need for additional soldiers have multiplied the value of the individual mercenary. A seasoned Wagner mercenary can hope to make $3,500 a month plus combat allowances.

Secondly, mercenaries can expect the favor of the Kremlin dictator Putin, as they allow him to continue his war without an unpopular general mobilization: Prigozhin’s numerous provocations and insults to the Russian military leaders testify to a kind of inviolability that Wagner, who once made a fool of himself, as an upstart -Boss has secured himself in the meantime.

Thirdly, it is about the political and social position in post-war Russia. According to American professor and author Margarita Balmaceda, the mercenaries should be understood in the context of Russia’s internal power struggle: “It’s all about the struggle for more influence and favors and favors that Putin can give in return,” Balmaceda. said recently in “Time” magazine. “And around the time after Putin.”

Based on Secret Service reports, press releases and mentions in social networks, the following key players can currently be identified in the confused mass of Russian mercenaries.

Gazprom: the powerful newcomer

The Russian state energy giant is one of the youngest players in the Russian mercenary market. In early February, a press release from the Ukrainian secret service caused a stir, according to which the Russian government had authorized subsidiary Gazpromneft to set up a private security force.

Unlike true mercenaries, Russian law allows private security companies to be created to protect energy infrastructure. Gazprom, for its part, insists that its gunmen are only assigned to such “legal” surveillance duties.

Research by the British BBC says otherwise: there are now at least two mercenaries in Ukraine who can be directly attributed to the Gazprom group. They are called battalion «Potok» (electricity) and «Fakel» (torch). In an interview on Telegram, Wagner boss Prigozhin was the first to mention the competition and confirm ties with Gazprom.

Disgruntled Potok mercenaries posted a video in early April complaining of insufficient supplies and being placed under the PMC Redut instead of receiving Defense Department contracts. In May, Prigozhin accused them on Telegram of surrendering to the Ukrainian positions taken by Wagner at Bakhmut and simply running away.

The Torch Battalion (which is more like a company in numbers) is said to have fought near Wuhledar, numbering about 100 mercenaries.

Redut: Energy mercenary with a history

Some analysts also include “Redut” (fortress) in the Gazprom group. Her history says something different, although she too undoubtedly has her roots in the Russian energy sector and ties to Gazprom. The mercenary group Redut was allegedly taken over more than a decade ago by the oligarch Gennady Tymoshenko and the Strojtransgaz company belonging to his Volga group.

After deploying to Syria from 2014 to guard Strojtransgaz facilities, Redut was one of the first Russian mercenaries to fight in Ukraine following the February 2022 invasion.

In Russia, Redut has attracted attention in recent months through intensive advertising campaigns on social networks, where men with military experience between the ages of 25 and 45 were promised at least 2,540 francs a month.

Patriot: Schoigu’s private troop

Among the many mercenaries, “Patriot” is likely to occupy a special position. It is directly attributed to the Russian Ministry of Defense and Sergei Shoigu. According to information from the American think tank Jamestown Foundation, their ranks mainly consist of well-trained ex-military and GRU intelligence officers. This would also explain the princely monthly salaries of up to $15,000, for which Wagner envies and attacks her.

The “Kiev Post” recently wrote about seven countries in which PMC Patriot is active, including the Central African Republic and, since 2018, Syria. While it may seem preposterous at first glance that the Defense Department itself is contributing to the proliferation of mercenaries, it ultimately makes sense: Chief of Staff Shoigu has a private force standing by for dirty jobs, the losses of which have not yet surfaced in official statistics.

ENOT: It didn’t bring happiness to the founder

The mercenary group ENOT, founded by the nationalist Igor Mangushev, has a particularly bad reputation even by Russian standards. The abbreviation roughly stands for “United National People’s Cooperative”. Mangushev sparked horror last year with a video of him dancing while holding up the skull of an alleged Ukrainian Azovstal militant.

In early February, Mangushev’s death was confirmed in hospital after being shot in the head. His wife claimed that he was executed by the Russian army at the front. ENOT is said to have been kicked out of Serbia for radical activities in previous years, and the Russian judiciary has pursued several criminal proceedings against individual members.

The operational areas of this group for the war in Ukraine also included the Donbass, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Kadyrov and everyone else

Although Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s reportedly 10,000-strong “Akhmat” Brigade is officially part of the Russian National Guard, its commanders were the first to sign Shoigu’s decree of subordination to the Defense Ministry – one of many contradictions to Russian silk.

Kadyrov recently caused additional confusion with his statement that he wanted to set up his own real PMC, just like Prigozhin. This will fight worldwide for the liberation of oppressed peoples.

For Wagner boss Prigozhin, Kadyrov’s Chechens are simply “Tik-Tok fighters” because they can only be used to show off on social networks. A few days ago, Akhmad fighters were transferred to the Belgorod area to protect the border against partisan attacks.

In addition to those already mentioned, other Russian PMCs are regularly mentioned in the Ukrainian media and on Telegram. The Don Brigade and the Donbass Volunteer Corps are said to have come from the ranks of the Cossack organizations.

Two well-established mercenaries with significant foreign experience are the Slavonian Corps and the Moran Security Group. Far-right and ex-military intelligence officer Dmitri Utkin is said to have served in both before later founding the Wagner Group. (aargauerzeitung.ch)