Yevgeny Prigozhin: What we know about the Wagner Group

The head of the Wagner mercenary group has taken his feud with Russia’s military leaders to a new level. Here’s what we know so far.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group has taken his feud with Russia’s military leaders to a new level.

Here’s what we know so far about the private military company.

WHAT IS THE WAGNER GROUP?

Known as the Wagner Group, it is officially called PMC Wagner and is made up of a network of mercenaries operating as a private army of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Yevgeny Prigozhin speaking inside the headquarters of the Russian southern military district in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Picture: Handout / TELEGRAM/ @concordgroup_official / AFP

It was founded in 2014 by Mr Prigozhin, who previously served as “Putin’s chef” and catered state events held by the Russian leader, and was known to back pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

It registered as a company in 2022, opening its headquarters in St Petersburg, Russia. That same year it went on a massive “recruitment drive” plastering billboards in major Russian cities after Russia’s regular army struggled with numbers.

This video grab taken from handout footage posted on June 24, 2023 on the Telegram channel @razgruzka_vagnera shows Yevgeny Prigozhin walking in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Picture: Handout / TELEGRAM / @razgruzka_vagnera / AFP

HOW MANY FIGHTERS ARE INVOLVED?

In December of that year, US authorities estimated Wagner had 50,000 members inside Ukraine, made up of 10,000 contractors and 40,000 prisoners from Russian jails.

“It is openly recruiting in Russian cities, on billboards, and is being named in Russian media as a patriotic organisation,” Dr Samuel Ramani, of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, told the BBC.

A member of Wagner group stands guard in a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24. Picture: STRINGER / AFP

Earlier this year, Prigozhin claimed credit for capturing the Donetsk region in Ukraine, but later became angry and accused the Russian defence ministry of trying to take the credit.

It now sees itself as a rival to Russia’s military force.

On Saturday, Prigozhin boasted of having 25,000 members “ready to die”.

“All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000,” the 62-year-old, said in an audio message.

An armoured personnel carrier is parked in a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don, early on June 24. Picture: Vasily Deryugin / Kommersant Photo / AFP / Russia OUT

WHERE IS THE GROUP ACTIVE?

While Russia had previously denied having any links to the movement, Washington think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said it had played a role in Russia’s operations in the Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.

The Wagner group is not just active in Russia, with the US Department of Defence in 2020 placing them in the Central African Republic’s civil, where the group is accused of executing civilians and killing UN peacekeepers. They are also known to have a paramilitary presence in Syria and Libya.

In January this year, the US designated the group a “transnational criminal organisation”

“[It is] committing atrocities and human rights abuses in Ukraine and elsewhere,” national security spokesman John Kirby said at the time.

Originally published as Yevgeny Prigozhin: What we know about the Wagner Group