British intelligence: Wagner mercenary group commands 50,000 fighters in Ukraine
British Secret Service
Wagner mercenary group commands 50,000 fighters in Ukraine
Russian soldiers with a 152mm Giatsint-B field gun in an operation in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. photo
© Russian Defense Ministry/AP/dpa
The “Wagner” force is considered the best-equipped unit among Russian fighters in Ukraine. According to British intelligence, they have become a “key component” for the Kremlin.
According to British military experts, the Russian mercenary force Wagner commands up to 50,000 fighters in the Ukraine. This emerges from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London. Accordingly, the mercenaries have now become a “key component” in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
At the end of December, the previously opaque organization was in Russia was also officially registered as a corporation, but only as a management consultancy, the British statement said. It is not clear to what extent this is used to manage paramilitary activities. Private security and military companies are actually illegal in Russia.
Financed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin the troupe probably partly from government funds that came in via bloated government contracts to his other companies. “The registration is likely aimed at maximizing Prigozhin’s commercial profit and further legitimizing the organization, which is increasingly gaining in reputation,” the British statement continued.
USA want to declare Russian mercenaries a criminal organization
The US government wants to declare the Russian private army Wagner a transnational criminal organization. The communications director of the National Security Council said: John Kirbyin Washington with.
The classification allows the US and other countries to restrict the international business of the mercenary group and its worldwide network of supporters. The US government will impose specific sanctions on the Wagner group next week, Kirby said. He has not yet given details of the sanctions.
Wagner is a criminal organization responsible for atrocities and human rights abuses in Ukraine and around the world. There is increasing rivalry between Wagner and the Russian military and other Russian ministries. “We see growing tensions between Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry,” Kirby said.
