Russia, which has suffered heavy losses in Ukraine, is now recruiting fighters to Ukraine through its own armed forces and through the Wagner mercenary army. Russia has also sent Wagner troops to other crisis centers in the world.
13:44•Updated 14:50
Wagner, a mercenary army connected to the Russian regime, is recruiting more fighters to its ranks. According to British intelligence, possibly even prisoners have been recruited.
Doctoral researcher who studied private military companies Mikko Räkköläinen The University of Tampere says that using a mercenary army alongside the army shows that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has not gone according to plan.
– This is yet another sign that Russia’s war campaign in Ukraine has gone really badly wrong. They have a massive need for additional personnel, especially experienced fighters.
Military professor at the National Defense University Marko Fire cloth says that Wagner forces are increasingly being used in Ukraine.
– The Russian armed forces and the Kremlin are using Wagner even more, which means that its importance has grown, especially in the region of eastern Ukraine.
By using a mercenary army, Russia also wants to hide the losses it suffered in the war from the domestic public. Sending ordinary soldiers and conscripts abroad to die in wars is unpopular among the people.
– Opinion polls have shown that if Wagner’s fighters are sent there, the average Russian thinks that they are professionals who know the risks and are there voluntarily, says Räkköläinen.
By distancing conflicts with the help of Wagner, the Russian leadership gains both domestic and foreign political advantage.
Using a mercenary army also gives Russia the opportunity to deny complicity in conflicts. This happened, for example, in 2014, when unidentified, so-called green men occupied the Crimean peninsula belonging to Ukraine.
Palokangas from the National Defense University says that the mercenary army can also be used to cover up war crimes. Wagner was also known to be involved in the atrocities committed in the spring in Bucha in northern Ukraine. According to him, there are two important reasons for using a mercenary army.
– It creates distance from the activities of the armed forces. If necessary, we can even deny war crimes by announcing that they were not committed by the Russian armed forces, but by a private actor.
The mercenary army is also an additional resource.
– The Russian armed forces use them in a way as an extension of their own actions. One significant reason is that it is possible to release the soldiers of the armed forces to more important targets and assign them certain tasks.
With the help of a mercenary army, Russia is gaining geopolitical power and natural wealth
In addition to Ukraine, Wagner troops have been sent to conflict zones in several African countries and the Middle East. Wagner soldiers have been seen in, for example, Mali, the Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan and Syria.
With the help of the Wagner forces, Russia covets the country’s natural resources in addition to its geopolitical interests. For example CNN is reporting (you will switch to another service)how Russian cargo planes have flown the country’s biggest natural resource, gold, out of Sudan.
A similar pattern has also been repeated in many other countries.
In the bloody civil war that has been tearing Syria apart for years, the Wagner forces are fighting alongside the forces of the country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad.
– In Syria, for example, Wagner has signed agreements with the government that the company’s fighters will take back oil and gas fields from the rebels. They then receive an agreed share of the revenue from these fields for a certain period of time, Räkköläinen says.
Wagner has brand value for Russia
Doctoral researcher Mikko Räkköläinen from the University of Tampere says that Wagner, associated with atrocities such as torturing people and killing hundreds of civilians, is a valuable brand for Russia.
– It seems that the Russian defense forces have taken Wagner under much tighter control and are now using it more as a brand and ready-made recruitment channel.
According to him, the loss of Wagner fighters in the war is not a significant problem for Russia.
– The state in itself does not mind the fact that hundreds or thousands of soldiers fighting under the name of Wagner die, because they are employees with fixed-term contracts. If they die, then more are recruited, Räkköläinen sums up the way of thinking.
For many fighters in the mercenary army, the reason for going to war is money.
– The average crew salaries in Ukraine are reportedly around three thousand euros. A lot of slightly less educated people are recruited from the poorest regions of Russia, where the amount with bonuses is really high.
Räkköläinen mentions that some go to battles for their own ideological reasons. The Wagner forces are also joined by former professional soldiers who have no longer adapted to civilian life after a long military experience.
– When there is an opportunity to continue in that profession, and even so that they avoid the more unpleasant aspects of the army, such as strict discipline and boring barracks life, many move to the private sector.
Although soldiers of the mercenary army can also be tried for war crimes, Räkköläinen doubts that soldiers would be brought from Russia to be tried.
Western mercenary armies operate in different ways
Räkköläinen says that Wagner troops have been used, for example, in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics recognized by Russia to support and train inexperienced troops. However, they have not been the spearhead of the battles in Ukraine.
– The main reason for being in Ukraine is that all the troops that the Russian armed forces can muster and send to the front are needed there.
Wagner differs from Western mercenary armies that generate financial returns for their owners. According to Räkköläinen, Western mercenary soldiers do not primarily aim to participate in front-line battles, but defend themselves when attacked.
– Western countries have not outsourced the fact of going out of the base to look for a fight. That is left to the armies.
Räkköläinen says that many of the information about Wagner are mostly educated guesses, as Russia keeps its unmarked troops behind a fog curtain.
However, he thinks that the country will still be useful for Wagner fighters in the future.
– As long as Russia implements this long-term plan to increase its influence in the Middle East and Africa, such a tool will be useful.
What: Russian private mercenary army.
Founder: Dmitry Utkinan officer in the special forces of the Russian military intelligence GRU.
Current manager: Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as Putin’s chef. An oligarch with a prison past and the president of Russia Vladimir Putin credit person.
Strength: Estimated to be less than 10,000 fighters.
Where seen: Reportedly in at least 15 countries, including Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, Mali, Libya and the Central African Republic.
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