The crime records of Putin’s mercenaries

Warning: This text contains explicit descriptions of (sexual) violence and murders that can be disturbing.

It is probably one of the most brutal battles of the war in Ukraine: the battle of Bakhmut. For weeks Ukrainians and Russians have been fighting for the place in eastern Ukraine – the losses on both sides are immense. Leading the fight: Russian mercenaries of the “Wagner Group” under their boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who only recently appeared at the front.

But even outside the embattled city, the Wagner mercenaries continue to make headlines – especially with particularly gruesome crimes. They killed at least one deserter with a sledgehammer, filmed the performance and posted the video on the internet. According to findings of Western secret services, they also played a major role in the atrocities in the Kiev suburb of Bucha.

Since the invasion of the Ukraine, the Wagner mercenaries have been in the spotlight of the world public. However, the file of their alleged crimes begins much earlier: according to reports, the group has been active for about ten years. While private mercenaries are actually illegal in Russia, the Kremlin is said to have often used them to secure political and economic interests – and has repeatedly denied having any connection to the mercenaries. What’s behind this mercenary crew, which is funded in part by holding shares in mines? And what crimes can he trace back to?

First mission in Crimea

According to media reports, the “Wagner Group” originated in the Russian military. Around 2010, a desire arose in the Kremlin to send soldiers to certain parts of the world, shielded from the public eye – to become unofficially involved in crises, for example, or to protect Russian companies.

According to research by Bellingcat, the “Wagner Group” first became active in Ukraine in 2014, then in Crimea and Donbass. But it didn’t stop. The list of countries in which the mercenaries worked in subsequent years is long. However, two locations outside Ukraine stand out.

The deployment in Syria is an example of how Russia uses the Wagner mercenaries to defend its interests. In the fourth year of the civil war, in September 2015, Russia began its military operation in the state, followed shortly by the Wagner mercenaries. It was their second major mission after their performances in Crimea and eastern Ukraine – and led the mercenaries to a fiasco.

In Syria, the group of mercenaries fought alongside the army of ruler Bashar al-Assad against both the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) and opposition and rebel groups. In 2017, the American news agency AP received documents according to which the Wagner Group received in return profit shares in oil companies, which they freed from the hands of IS – there it mentions 25 percent.

A lucrative business: A large part of Wagner boss Prigozchin’s income comes from such deals in the Middle East and Africa, according to research by the “Financial Times”.

The state distanced itself from mercenaries

Officially, the Russian state wanted nothing to do with them and has always denied any connection. The advantage of this supposedly autonomous action became apparent after an incident in 2017: mercenaries then tortured a Syrian civilian to death with, among other things, a sledgehammer and burned his body. They then posed with his severed head and hung it from a fence. They filmed and photographed their act.

The Wagner soldiers were doomed by skirmishes with American soldiers. In February 2018, mercenaries attacked a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) position in Deir ez-Zor in the east of the country – apparently unaware that advisers from the US military were also stationed there. These called for direct air support. Between 300 and 600 Russian mercenaries are said to have been killed or wounded.

At the time, this represented a loss of power for the Wagner Group and its boss, Prigozhin. The Wagner mercenaries then focused more on operations in Africa — locations that, monetized, were “almost pathetic,” as freelance journalist and analyst Neil Hauer wrote.

One of the African countries where the Wagner Group is particularly active is the Central African Republic. The deployment there apparently started in early 2018. The mission of the men of Prigozhin: to train soldiers and provide support in the fight against rebel groups. They are also used as bodyguards for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

In return, the mercenary groups – apparently there is another group active here besides Wagner – would have been given access to gold, uranium and diamond mines, according to the independent US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Also active in Africa

The Kremlin itself announced in 2018 that Russia was training soldiers in the country. Although the official announcement of 170 is called “civilian trainers”, observers say this is probably just a veiled term for mercenaries. To this day, the government of the Central African Republic denies hiring any Wagner mercenaries. However, their presence in the African country is now so well documented that there is no doubt about it – although the group did much to cover up their activities.

This is evident, for example, from the case of the Russian journalists who wanted to investigate the mercenaries on the spot in 2018 and were found dead a little later. It was officially said at the time that armed foreigners had killed the men.

Nevertheless, journalists and aid organizations managed to document at least part of the actions of the mercenaries in the Central African Republic. For example, the “Aïgbado massacre” in January 2022, named after a village in the west of the country.

Russian mercenaries are said to have set up a base there together with the Central African army to fight rebels. Upon arrival, they allegedly shot at the civilian population and burned down houses. The Central African internet portal “Corbeau News” and reporter Philip Obaji Jr. report that. from the American medium “The Daily Beast”, citing eyewitnesses.

According to the reports, many people died trying to flee to a place 70 kilometers away, and fishermen reported finding bodies in a river. According to the information, at least 70 people have been killed and the United Nations is investigating the incident. But the horror didn’t stop there.

Obaji spoke for “The Daily Beast” to two 16-year-old girls who fled to a nearby refugee camp. But there they were handed over to Russian mercenaries who raped them. “They kept us there for weeks and made us their slaves,” said one of the two. “We could hear the girls screaming as they were raped.” If a girl became pregnant, the mercenaries called in a doctor who aborted the fetus.

At the time of the interview, the girls were already in neighboring Cameroon. According to their own statements, they fled when gunmen attacked the Russian camp. Their statements cannot be independently verified. However, there are repeated reports from other African countries of the mercenaries executing and raping civilians.

One of the most influential figures

Back to Ukraine: Russia no longer hides its connections with the Wagner mercenaries, on the contrary. They fight openly and in the media together with the Russian army. However, the struggle for power and sovereignty between the Russian army and the mercenary company is becoming increasingly apparent. You can read more about it here.

There are signs and reports that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is trying to curb Prigozhin’s influence. Is the mercenary group threatened with loss of power? No one outside the Kremlin knows for sure. However, Wagner’s history shows that Wagner boss Prigozhin also suffered a setback in Syria. But four years later – in the war in Ukraine – he is one of the most influential figures in the Russian public.