WAGNER GROUP AND ITS CRIMES
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NGOs
PRESS
Wherever involved, mercenaries from Wagner Group are worsening political situations in already fragile areas. You will find on this site all the reports from experts of the United Nations and other IO on the topic.
The PMC is known to commit war crimes in all its areas of operation. We highlight on this website all publications from renowned NGO’s and think tanks fighting to raise awareness.
Journalists from over the globe are investigating Wagner Group, from its crimes to its connections to opaque mining and finance companies with links to the Russian elite. Find their results here.
The Wagner Group is the offspring of the Slavonic Corps, a Russian paramilitary group active in Syria in 2013. The Corps was quickly dismantled following its failure on the field. As its successor, Wagner started operating in 2014 in Ukraine and Syria. Like its older iteration, it is formed by former members of the Russian military or secret services, most notably the GRU.
As a Private Military Company (PMC), the Wagner Group offers a range of services : close protection of public personalities, military formation and consulting on security matters. However, numerous reports and evidences point to the fact that the group far exceeds these activities. Most notably, the Group is taking an active part in combat actions in both Africa and the Middle East.
More than 3000 mercenaries have served in Syria, 2500 in Ukraine and about a 1000 in Libya and the Central African Republic. They act both alongside the Russian army and on their own. In all cases, their operate in areas in suitable to Moscow’s strategic interests.
No legal existence
But in spite of this flourishing activity, the Wagner Group has no legal existence. Private Military Companies are indeed outlawed in Russia. Practically, the company is registered in Argentina, and both Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov denied its existence on multiple occasions.
These mercenaries can therefore freely conduct actions the Russian Federation cannot officially acknowledge. They are a tool for Moscow to promote its agenda, without taking responsibility for illegal behaviors. Nonetheless, it does not prevent the government from providing material and facilities such as the training camp in Molkino (Krasnodar Krai).
Links to the Russian oligarchy
As a private company, the Wagner Group is first and foremost driven by profit. They are largely used for site protection of mining societies. These all link to one man : Evgeny Prigozhin. This Russian oligarch is close to the Kremlin, and built is fortune in the catering industry, with contracts with many Russian administrations including the Ministry of Defense. He is believed to be the founder of Wagner Group.
Prigozhin is also behind information manipulation operations, and is of the Internet Research Agency accused of interfering in the US elections.
Coordinating the Wagner Group with his mining companies, Prigozhin is both advancing Russia’s strategic interests, and making personal gains. All of that, by taking advantage of vulnerable populations and unstable countries.
LATEST ARTICLES
- Prigozhin steps out of the shadowSeptember 30 2022 Monday, September the 26th. A declaration rings like a small revolution in the small world of PMC Wagner…
- Wagner Group mostly targeting civilian targets in CAR and MaliSeptember 1st 2022 – ACLED Original Report A report released by ACLED on August 30th shades light on Wagner Group propency…
- Ivan Maslov: From Ukraine to Mali, a war criminal’s pathIf the name Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov doesn’t ring a bell, that is perfectly normal. The head of Wagner in Mali and…
- Wagner Group recruiting prisoners from penitentiary coloniesJuly 4th 2022 A report by Russian magazine “Важные истории” (Important stories) reveals that the mercenary group Wagner is recruiting convicts…
- Wagner in Mali : terror as a weapon of warMourrah, Nioni, Hombori… Despite the growing amount of proofs of exactions incriminating Wagner Group, the Malian junta keeps strengthening its bloody…
- Russia-Mali: Limited state-to-state relation to cover mercenary engagementOn the 27th of April, the CNT (National Transition Council) once again communicated on its military superiority over terrorist group, mainly…
- Central African Republic: Abuses by Russia-Linked ForcesOriginal Article Human Rights Watch – 3rd May 2022 (Nairobi) – Forces in the Central African Republic, whom witnesses identified as Russian,…
- Russian manipulation in Mali: a new turn in the information warIn recent years, Russia has been staging a comeback in West Africa, taking advantage of the growing insecurity and instability in…
- Wagner Group slaughtered tens of civilians on CAR diamond and gold mining sitesOnce more, Russia-linked mercenary group Wagner killed ten people, among which 3 women. The massacre took place in Gordill, in the…
” Civilians, including peacekeepers, journalists, aid workers and minorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been violently harassed and intimidated by the Wagner Group “
UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner
” There are numerous reports of serious human rights violations committed by the group against civilians, at times with extreme cruelty.“
International Federation for Human Rights
” Libya: ‘Wherever Wagner Goes Destruction Happens’ “
The Moscow Times