Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group are set to more than increase their numbers to over 1,000 to help Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The squad was assigned to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and other senior government figures: This and subsequent attempts by Chechen troops were foiled by Ukrainian security forces and special forces elements. Dmitriy Valeryevich Utkin, a Russian special operations colonel who participated in the Chechen conflicts, formed the Wagner Group. The Kremlin maintains that Wagner is a private military contractor (PMC) over which Moscow has no authority over its operations or personnel.
Wagner’s mercenaries have been charged with a slew of human rights breaches and extrajudicial executions in almost every nation where they have been stationed. Wagner mercenaries were seen in Syria carrying a sledgehammer to a Syrian man who supposedly quit his army station. Although purportedly directed against Islamic terrorists, their acts are more comparable to assisting military juntas or authoritarian politicians in maintaining power. However, due to their “PMC” status, they provide Moscow with the barest semblance of plausible deniability.
