Russia’s so-called little green men―unmarked troops sporting green―were first noticed during the annexation of Crimea in 2014. This unit is believed to be a precursor of the Wagner group. Wagner was next seen in Syria, fighting alongside the forces of the Bashar al-Assad government, and then in Ukraine’s Donbass region, on the side of separatists. By 2017, there were reports of war crimes. A widely circulated video showed Wagner troops crushing the knees and hands of a Syrian fighter with a sledgehammer.
Wagner has been most active in Africa. In Sudan, where it has operated since 2017, it has trained troops, guarded mineral resources and suppressed dissent, ostensibly in exchange for gold. In Libya, Wagner troops fought with the army in its 2019 Tripoli campaign and stand accused of extrajudicial killings and planting land mines in civilian areas. In Mozambique, Wagner supported the army in its fight against Islamist insurgency. Wagner presence has been reported in Mali, too. (In 2022, Human Rights Watch said that witnesses told it of “white soldiers speaking an unfamiliar foreign language they believed to be Russian” who were involved in the killing of 300 civilians in Mali.)
In 2018, three Russian citizens―documentary filmmaker Aleksandr Rastorguev, war correspondent Orkhan Dzhemal and cameraman Kirill Radchenko―were killed in the Central African Republic. According to the official version, they were attacked by robbers. But, an investigation by Russian non-profit organisation The Dossier Center tied the killings to Yevgeny Prigozhin. He denied the accusation.
Also read
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- 'Talented; Man with difficult fate', Putin condoles Wagner chief Prigozhin's death
- Russia confirms Wagner chief Prigozhin was on crashed plane; flight data shows 'dramatic descents'
- How Putin scripted the revolt against himself and eased Prigozhin out
- Inside story from Russia: How Prigozhin built up his empire and got close to Putin
- What the Wagner imbroglio means for Ukraine
Wagner entered South America in 2019, in support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and are reported to have trained elite Venezuelan units.
In January 2023, the US declared Wagner a transnational criminal organisation. Prigozhin responded with a letter to the White House asking it to clarify what crimes were committed by Wagner.