British military intelligence said Monday that Russia's private military company, the Wagner Group, has been deployed in eastern Ukraine.
“More than 1,000 mercenaries, including the organization's top leaders, are expected to deploy to engage in combat operations,” said the British Ministry of Defense.
The report states that Wagner's personnel have been prioritized for the conflict in Ukraine rather than operations in Africa and Syria. This was motivated by heavy losses and an invasion that has been slowed down by fierce Ukrainian resistance and serious logistical problems.
In recent years, private military companies, such as the Wagner Group, have become a vital tool with which Russia expands its influence in the world while defending its interests. Currently, Russian mercenaries are present in at least 30 countries on four continents, which demonstrates the expansion of this phenomenon that took place in the conflict in Ukraine in 2014 its first trial.
Although mercenary companies are technically illegal under the Russian Constitution, the fact is that they have become a key component of Moscow's “hybrid war” strategy and offer Russian head of state Vladimir Putin a means by which to “carry out his political and advancing Russian national security interests around the world,” according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In general, according to the authors of The Moscow Mercenary Wars, these security firms are held by oligarchs close to the Kremlin, such as Prigozhin, who is very close to Putin and who is subject to sanctions by the United States.
One of its main tasks is to strengthen Russian foreign policy and expand its influence worldwide, since thanks to mercenaries Moscow is able to support certain countries or partners.
From a military point of view, given the capabilities of these mercenaries (usually former members of the security forces), allies can be strengthened, while military presence is established in settings where there was none and even disrupts the balance of power in certain conflicts “while maintains a degree of plausible denial on the part of the Kremlin”, emphasize the authors.
In addition, mercenaries are more expendable and their use is less risky than the deployment of Russian soldiers, especially if they die in combat or during training missions. Security company personnel have also become a source for collecting intelligence information, as well as being able to carry out covert actions and clandestine activities, according to CSIS.
Security contractors receive training before being sent abroad, in some cases even inside military bases and with the probable support of the Army and Intelligence services. The Wagner Group trains its men in two camps next to an Intelligence Services (GRU) base in Molkino, Krasnodar region.
(With information from Reuters and Europa Press)
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