10
Guns for gold:the Wagner Network Exposed
Table 2: High-confidence countries where Wagner fighters have carried out offensive military operations (between 2014 and June 2023)
| Year of first Involvment | Country | Nature of Involvment | Further Informatoon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Ukraine | Sustained Involvement | Wagner fighters played a “decisive” role supporting pro-Russian separatists in the early battles of the war in Eastern Ukraine, including the seizure of Debaltseve in Donetsk (early 2015).[1] Wagner fighters have taken an active role as a conventional fighting force in the wider Russia-Ukraine war now underway, particularly the battle of Bakhmut. |
| 2015 | Syria | Sustained involvement | Wagner fighters have conducted ground operations in support of the Syrian government during the civil war, including a well-known (botched) attack in 2018 in the town of Deir al-Zour, which brought Wagner fighters into direct confrontation with the US military.[2] The Wagner Network has also carried out capacity-building of Syrian army personnel, and recruited Syrian soldiers to fight for it in Libya.[3] An allied PMC-style battalion named the Carpathians was attached to Wagner and fought in Syria.[4] Oil and gas revenues were part of the agreed payment for services to liberate and protect Syria’s oil fields.[5] |
| 2017 | Central African Republic (CAR) | Sustained Involvment | Wagner has a significant presence in CAR and so-called ‘Russian instructors’ have participated in military operations in support of President Touadéra.[6] The network also has significant business interests in the country (in particular, gold mining) and has made use of aggressive anti-Western propaganda to solidify Russia’s position as a dominant power in the country. Some have described Wagner’s involvement in CAR as “state capture” (paragraph 23). |
- ↑ CSIS, ‘Moscow’s Mercenary Wars: The Expansion of Russian Private Military Companies’, September 2020 (accessed 16 July 2023)
- ↑ Andrew Linder, ‘Russian Private Military Companies in Syria and beyond’, 2018 (accessed 10 July 2023); How a 4-Hour Battle Between Russian Mercenaries and US Commandos Unfolded in Syria, New York Times, 24 May 2018
- ↑ CIR open-source research; Letter dated 8 March 2021 from the Panel of Experts on Libya established pursuant to resolution 1973 (2021) addressed to the President of the Security Council S/2021/229, Annex 77, para 28
- ↑ CIR open-source research
- ↑ Dossier Center (WGN0009) para 25; Mr D White (WGN0001)
- ↑ Q6 [Sorcha MacLeod]
