Wagner, The Powerful Mercenary Group That Has Declared War On Russian Army

The Wagner Group (officially called PMC Wagner), is a private military organization that is owned and financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a 61-year-old who has been previously known as "Putin's chef" for catering state events with his catering business.

The group was first identified in 2014, when it was backing pro-Russian separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine, as per the BBC. At that time, it was a secretive organisation that was mostly operating in Africa and the Middle East. Back then the group was thought to have had about 5,000 fighters from Russia's elite regiments and special forces. 

However, earlier this year in January, the UK Ministry of Defence informed that the Wagner Group now consists of 50,000 fighters in Ukraine and has become a key component of the Ukraine campaign. Citing the ministry, the BBC reported that the organisation even started recruiting in large numbers in 2022 because Russia had trouble finding people for the regular army. About 80% of Wagner's members in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons, the UN National Security Council said at the start of this year. 

Even though mercenary forces are illegal in Russia, the Wagner Group registered as a company in 2022 and opened a new headquarters in St Petersburg. The war in Ukraine has helped the group to grow its influence. It is said that the group was involved in Russia's capture of Bakhmut city which is situated in eastern Ukraine. 

The private military organisation is named after its first commander, Dmitry Utkin, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Russian military's special forces. The group has established a reputation for brutality and ruthlessness. A number of western countries and UN experts have even accused Wagner mercenaries of human rights abuses throughout Africa, including the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali.