Wagner Group is Becoming a BIG Problem for Russia

The Wagner Group: Russia's Infamous Mercenary Army

This transcript discusses the origins and activities of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary army that has been involved in various conflicts around the world.

The Origins of the Wagner Group

• The Wagner Group was allegedly founded by Dmitry Utkin, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian special forces who fought on the side of Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

• Utkin left his previous mercenary group to found the Wagner Group, which was apparently named after Richard Wagner, a composer favored by Hitler.

• Utkin was spotted in Crimea in 2014 and shortly after began supporting separatists in Donbas. He later disappeared from public view.

Prigozhin's Involvement with the Wagner Group

• Yevgeny Prigozhin is alleged to have provided funding for the creation of the Wagner Group.

• Prigozhin made his fortune through various business ventures, including restaurants that were frequented by Putin himself.

• Despite being illegal in Russia, private military companies like Wagner were allowed to operate freely due to Putin's support.

Activities of the Wagner Group

• The group has been confirmed to be operating in Syria since 2015 and has fought directly under instruction from the Russian government.

• In addition to fighting alongside Assad's forces, they also developed a specialized unit known as ISIS Hunters to take down key ISIS leadership.

• The group has been involved in various conflicts around the world and is known for committing atrocities in pursuit of its goals.

Wagner Group: The Russian Private Military Company

This section discusses the Battle of Khasham, where Wagner led a force of approximately 500 in an assault on a position held by Syrian Democratic Forces and about a dozen US special forces.

Battle of Khasham

• Wagner led an attack against Syrian Democratic Forces and US special forces.

• The US military delivered apocalyptic levels of firepower via F-22s, F-15s, B-52s, AC-130 gunships, Apache helicopters, Reaper and Shadow drones, M777 howitzers and Himars batteries.

• Russia suffered many casualties that the bodies had to be flown to Russia in secret.

Wagner's Brutality in Syria

This section discusses how Wagner targeted civilians in Syria to sow fear and panic.

Targeting Civilians

• PMC specifically targeted civilians to sow fear and panic.

• A video surfaced showing mercenaries using a sledgehammer on an old Syrian man before delivering a fatal blow to the head.

Wagner's Activities in Sudan

This section discusses how Wagner has been working at the behest of Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir to assist in the ongoing civil war.

Activities in Sudan

• Rumors circulated about their presence after Russian mercenaries returned home for treatment for malaria.

• Video footage confirmed their presence as they helped train regime forces while directly securing gold, uranium, and diamond mines.

Control Over Mines

This section discusses how Wagner allegedly controls multiple mines directly, earning billions in profits.

Control Over Mines

• Wagner is alleged to control multiple mines directly, earning billions in profits.

• UN efforts to gain video evidence of Wagner's brutality have met with failure as the company has shot down every UN surveillance drone dispatched to overfly the mining sites.

Wagner's Activities in Central African Republic

This section discusses how Wagner interfered in the 2016 US election on behalf of Vladimir Putin and attacked the French in the Central African Republic.

Activities in Central African Republic

• Using social media, Wagner helped spread a deep anti-French sentiment across the country.

• The company took full advantage of the power vacuum in the country to insert itself and promote Russian interests.

Madagascar and Libya

This section discusses how Wagner was dispatched to guard political consultants hired by Prigozhin sent to help President Hery Rajaonarimampianina's campaign. It also covers their activities in Libya.

Madagascar and Libya

• In Madagascar, Wagner was dispatched to guard political consultants hired by Prigozhin sent to help President Hery Rajaonarimampianina's campaign.

• In Libya, they provided training and direct combat assistance including operating Russian air defenses provided by the government while acting as snipers, mine layers, and helping create IEDs.

Accusations of Brutality

This section discusses accusations of massacres of civilians carried out by Wagner PMCs in Mali and Mozambique.

Accusations of Brutality

• In Mali and Mozambique, Wagner PMCs were accused of carrying out massacres of civilians.

• The PMC was specifically named in a UN report on the slavery, rape, and torture of migrants within Libya.

Wagner Group and Russian Military in Ukraine

This section discusses the role of Wagner Group, a private military company (PMC), in Ukraine and its impact on the Russian military.

Wagner's Successes and Failures

• Wagner has been most active in Ukraine, where it has performed better than the Russian regular forces.

• The Battle of Bakhmut is largely being fought by Wagner.

• Shoigu's military has been largely unable to accomplish any of its strategic goals in Ukraine.

• Where the Russian army failed, Wagner has succeeded or at least failed less.

Putin's Government Structure

• Putin purposefully fills his government's senior-most positions with loyal yes-men who hate each other.

• Sergei Shoigu is an outsider to the Russian oligarchs who control most of the country but remains Russia's minister of defense despite his incompetence.

• This ensures Shoigu's loyalty to Putin alone, preventing him from banding together with others against Putin.

Prigozhin vs. Shoigu

• Prigozhin and Shoigu absolutely hate each other, which prevents them from banding together to topple Putin.

• The rivalry between them heated up after the fall of Soledar near Bakhmut when Russia captured the town and its lucrative salt mines.

• Shoigu cut off Wagner from Russian military supplies after Prigozhin began directly attacking his ministry of defense.

Impact on Russian Military Efforts

• Rather than operating under one unified command structure, Russian forces in Ukraine are splintered groups of factions all vying for their own interests.

• The rivalry between Shoigu and Prigozhin has become Russia's biggest headache, directly sabotaging the Russian military effort in Ukraine.

• Cutting off Wagner from Russian military supplies had an immediate and severe impact on its ability to conduct operations.

Prigozhin and Shoigu's Rivalry

In this section, we learn about the rivalry between Prigozhin and Shoigu, which has resulted in direct fratricide. The video released by Prigozhin was an appeal to every Babushka back home who had lost sons or grandsons in the fighting. Shoigu threatened to take his ball and go home if the Russian MOD didn't open up its inventory.

Prigozhin's Video

• Prigozhin released a fiery tirade on video pretending he cared about the dozens of corpses behind him while blaming Shoigu's ministry of defense for their deaths.

• The video was an appeal to every Babushka back home who had lost sons or grandsons in the fighting.

• Inevitably, the two will continue their bitter rivalry that has in some cases resulted in direct fratricide.

Wagner's Withdrawal Threat

• If the Russian MOD didn't open up its inventory, Wagner would withdraw from Bakhmut, a strategic catastrophe that could have been exploited by Ukraine in the coming offensive.

• However, this is not the end of the story as Shoigu has now been humiliated by Prigozhin and forced into concessions.

Blaming Each Other

• There is good reason to believe that Wagner and Russian forces have both fired on each other.

• Wagner has actually given targeting coordinates to Ukraine for positions with senior Russian military officials.

Setting Stage for Ukrainian Offensive

• Prigozhin has now set the stage for the coming Ukrainian offensive.

• He claims on video for the first time that the war effort simply isn't going very well.

• He has been careful to pin the blame on the Russian military leadership itself and cleverly began to shape a narrative for what is expected to be a devastating Ukrainian offensive.