The Russian private army "Wagner" is publicly seeking mercenaries for the war in Ukraine for the first time
In the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, several billboards of the hitherto secret mercenary group "Wagner" have been placed, with which they are looking for new fighters for the front in Ukraine. On one of them it is written "fatherland. Honor. Blood. Courage. WAGNER", writes "The Guardian".
Such posters were also seen in several other cities in the country. While Western media have written for years about the mysterious mercenary group linked to Putin's government that is waging war for Russian interests around the world, in Russia "Wagner" has been a taboo subject until now, and this is the first time that it is publicly looking for new members.
Not that long ago, Russian officials (up to Putin) and state media pretended that Wagner had nothing to do with the Russian state or even that it didn't exist at all
Today a report on the group storming 🇺🇦's second largest power station is on the front page of 🇷🇺's top tabloid pic.twitter.com/KTX6Ye0wMm
- Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) July 29, 2022
"It seems that they have decided not to hide their existence anymore. Now everyone already knows about them", says Denis Korotkov, a journalist of "Novaya Gazeta" and a long-time observer of "Wagner".
By the way, this group was founded by Dmitry Utkin in 2014 in support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. He is considered far-right and reportedly named the group after his favorite composer, Richard Wagner. US and other sources point to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful businessman close to Putin, as the group's main financier. He denies having ties to "Wagner".
The West in a battle with Wagner, the Russian paramilitary ghost that does not officially exist
These mercenaries played an important role in the war in Syria, and were confirmed to be present in several African countries. They are often accused of war crimes and human rights violations in the war zones in which they operate.
The West in a battle with Wagner, the Russian paramilitary ghost that does not officially exist