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“Wagner” Officially Announced Its Return to the Special Military Operation Zone ("Вагнер" официально заявил о своем возвращении в зону СВО)
October 29, 2023
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Moskovskij Komsomolets
PMC Wagner fighters have announced that they are returning to the front lines in Ukraine. This statement has been published on one of Wagner's Telegram channels. According to some unofficial reports, Wagner's fighters have already been fighting in Avdiivka and form a core of the storm units.
Former Wagner Group Mercenaries Are Joining Chechnya's Akhmat Battalion, Says Chechen Commander
October 28, 2023
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Meduza
Former Wagner Group mercenaries are joining Chechnya's Akhmat battalion and heading to the war in Ukraine, Akhmat Battalion Commander Apti Alaudinov stated, calling it a "mass influx." Alaudinov said he believes Wagner Group fighters choose the Akhmat battalion due to a "similar ethos between the commanders and fighters in the unit, a high level of training, and Akhmat's provision of everything necessary for combat operations."
Russian Orthodox Church Funding Private Military Company
October 20, 2023
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Kyiv Post
The Russian Orthodox Church is funding the Andreyevsky Krest (St. Andrew's Cross) PMC, which is funded by donations collected by the church from its congregations throughout the federation. Posts on Telegram have cited reports by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) that the Andreyevsky Krest was a full-blown PMC operating from its base located at the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Representatives of the cathedral were said to be actively recruiting parishioners, particularly those with previous military experience, for service in Ukraine with military tactical and firearms training courses reportedly being held for mercenaries by instructors from the Russian special services.
The New Wagner? Russian Mercenary Group Recruits Prigozhin's Ex-Fighters
October 16, 2023
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Politico
Russian private military company Redut is recruiting mercenaries including former fighters from the Wagner Group under the guise of "volunteers," U.K. defense intelligence stated. The memo noted that Russia's military intelligence, the GRU, likely finances and supervises the group's activities and added that Redut has been involved in combat in Ukraine's Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Luhansk regions since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Wagner Group. Beyond Accountability
October 16, 2023
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Media Initiative for Human Rights
Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), a Ukrainian NGO, noted that the Wagner Group has violated human rights in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion of Russia. Alleged crimes include the torture and extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, attacks on civilians, and seizure of critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. This is consistent with the pattern of behavior Wagner has exhibited in other countries where it has operated and been accused of committing robberies, rape, torture, and murder, particularly of civilians. MIHR noted in the report that the group only has indirect evicdence of Wagner's involvement in mass crimes against civilians, but they cannot be verified due to the lack of access to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Another Former Wagner Mercenary Recruited From Russian Prison Charged With Murder
October 10, 2023
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
According to the report, a former Wagner mercenary recruited from prison and discharged after serving his contract with the Wagner group has been charged with murder. The ex-convict, whose identity was not revealed, reportedly confessed to killing a 32-year old woman, leaving her body in a car, and setting the car on fire. The ex-convict was recruited from prison in December and returned home with three medals in July after the completion of his contract with the Wagner group. The report mentions that returnees from the war in Ukraine have killed 27 people in 20 incidents. Former Wagner group mercenaries were involved in 12 of the incidents and killed 19 of the victims.
How Russia's GRU Set Up a Fake Private Military Company for Its War in Ukraine
October 10, 2023
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Russian military intelligence is using a fictitious PMC as a front to recruit and deploy soldiers for the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, an RFE/RL investigation has found. The pseudo PMC, Redut, is widely described as a mercenary company akin to the Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin before his death in a plane crash in August, and Washington has imposed sanctions on an eponymous Russian legal entity. However, the Russian forces operating under the Redut label in Ukraine are not part of an actual corporate network of the kind that Prigozhin used to operate Wagner. Instead, what is known as Redut is a recruitment system for combat units that is coordinated and funded by the Russian military, in particular its intelligence agency, known as the GRU.
Moldova's President Says Wagner Leader Planned Coup to Remove Her
October 06, 2023
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Financial Times
The President of Moldova Maia Sandu has claimed Russia's Wagner paramilitaries were behind a thwarted coupa ttempt that aimed to depose her as head of state as a part of a campaign to destabilize the country. In an interview with the Financial Times, Maia Sandu said Wagner's late leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had planned the coup earlier this year and warned that Moscow is using various methods, including cash mules and bank cards issued in Dubai, to smuggle money into Moldova to bribe voters ahead of a string of elections. European and U.S. officials warned in February that Russia was planning to topple Sandu's pro-western government and Moldova said in March that it had arrested a Wagner member and charged them with fomenting unrest.
Putin Said That There Are No PMCs in Russia (Путин заявил, что в России нет ЧВК)
October 05, 2023
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RIA Novosti
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that there are no private military companies in Russia. There is no legislation that would define them, and the term itself was, according to him, created by the journalists. PMC Wagner's participation in the war on Ukraine was driven by the situation on the battlefield, but their involvement was allegedly purely voluntary. Putin also said that there are multiple competing opinions on Russia regarding the need for such groups.
Onboard Grenade Blast Caused Plane Crash that Killed Wagner Boss, Claims Putin
October 05, 2023
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The Guardian
Vladimir Putin has claimed that the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, and suggested the Wagner boss may have been on drugs. Putin did not elaborate on how the grenades could detonate on board but implied that alcohol and drugs could have played a role in the crash, claiming that the FSB found ten billion roubles in cash and five kilograms of cocaine in Prigozhin's mansion after his failed rebellion.
Wagner's Prigozhin Hailed a Hero, 40 Days After Death in Plane Crash
October 02, 2023
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Al Jazeera
Dozens of Russians from family to former fighters have held memorial services for Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to mark forty days since his death, hailing him as a hero of the people. Memorials took place in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and other Russian cities with dozens of Wagner fighters and everyday Russians paying their respects. There was no coverage on Russian state television or any official tributes.
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