[megathread] Wagner Group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group

* Wagner Group (PMC Wagner): Russian paramilitary organization
* private military company (PMC), a network of mercenaries
* de facto private army of Yevgeny Prigozhin, former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin
* operates in support of Russian interests; receives equipment f. Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD); has used MoD installations for training

#WagnerGroup #YevgenyPrigozhin #PMCWagner #GRU #Russia #Putin #WarInUkraine

cont'd

* while Wagner Group itself is not ideologically driven, various elements of Wagner have been linked to neo-Nazism & far-right politics

Yevgeny Prigozhin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Prigozhin

Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin is a Russian oligarch, mercenary chief, and a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until he launched an alleged coup in June 2023.

#PrivateMilitaryCompany #PMC #mercenaries #Russia #VladimirPutin #WarCrimes #MilitaryContractors

cont'd 2/

* Yevgeny Prigozhin controls network of influential companies, including Russian state-backed mercenary company Wagner Group & 3 companies accused of interference in the 2016 & 2018 U.S. elections
& according to 2022 investigation by BellingCat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel, Prigozhin's activities "are tightly integrated with Russia's Defence Ministry & its intelligence arm, the GRU". ...

#WagnerGroup #YevgenyPrigozhin #PMCWagner #GRU #Russia #Putin