Putin's shadow army: Ex-Wagner mercenary unpacks notorious troops

Created: 06/30/2022, 20:42

The logo of the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group.

© IMAGO/imageBROKER/Siegra Asmoel

Marat Gabidullin is the first mercenary of Putin's shadow army "Group Wagner", who reports openly about the paramilitary organization and gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the contract killers.

Moscow - Even the Kremlin no longer denies that there is a Russian mercenary group called "Gruppe Wanger" - but continues to deny being in command.

The Wagner fighters are also used in the Ukraine war.

For the first time, a former fighter in Putin's shadow army tells about his service and gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the paramilitary organization.

A documentary also proves the close ties between Putin's mercenaries and Moscow.

Ukraine war: Insider criticizes Putin's war and "brutal actions of completely brutalized Wagner people"

Officially, Gruppe-Wagner is a private Russian security and military company, but the fighters are believed to be the Kremlin's secret warriors.

Since 2014, they have apparently been deployed where it is of use to the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin.

Previous combat missions are said to have brought the group to Armenia, Ukraine, Central African Republic, Syria, Sudan, Mali and numerous other countries.

There is talk of around 5,000 active fighters in the “Wagner Group”.

Now, for the first time, a shadow army fighter is reporting on how Russia's support for Syria's ruler Bashar al-Assad or for the separatists in eastern Ukraine looks in concrete terms.

For years, Russian mercenary Marat Gabidullin killed in the service of Putin's notorious shadow army.

He was deployed in war zones in Syria and Ukraine, received monthly payments of up to 3,000 euros and worked for the troops until 2019.

But the bloody combat missions on behalf of Russia's powerful for the private military and security company Wagner have apparently also made him pensive.

In his book Wagner.

Putin's Secret Army” he gives a glimpse behind the scenes.

Marat Gabidullin, when he was still working as a mercenary for the notorious "Wagner" troupe.

© dpa

"The rescue of Bashar al-Assad's regime enabled Russia to emphatically commend itself worldwide as the protector and savior of criminals of all kinds," writes Gabidullin.

Among other things, he criticized the poor armament, errors in the conduct of battles and a sometimes extremely brutal approach by completely brutalized Wagner people.

Gabidullin justifies his going public with the fact that he considers Putin's war in Ukraine to be a mistake.

Instead of remorse, readers in his book find the demand to officially recognize the paramilitary organization.

He speaks of an "organization of real professionals - the workers of war."

Ukraine war: Russia denies involvement with Gruppe-Wagner - documentation proves it

Marat Gabidullin also has his say in the documentary "Wagner, Putin's Shadow Army" by Ksenia Bolchakova and Alexandra Jousset.

In it, the filmmakers document the close ties between the Wagner group and the Kremlin.

According to Bolchakova and Jousset, the Wagner fighters are Putin's wildcards on the geopolitical battlefield.

The West is already retreating in Africa and Russia is gaining influence - with the help of Putin's shadow army.

The documentary also sheds light on the brutal actions of the Wagner group: "After a city is taken, the Wagner people search everything, every last house," explains another insider in the documentary.

"If you find someone with weapons, you can eliminate them right away," says "Wassili," a recruiter for Gruppe-Wagner who, unlike Gabidullin, wants to remain anonymous.

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According to the documentation, Wagner was in many places working exclusively for the Kremlin.

“By sending in mercenaries, the state saves on the pension entitlements and salaries it has to pay to regular army soldiers.

And it also makes it possible to make the dead disappear.” Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, said in February: “As far as Wagner is concerned, I have already said that the Russian state has nothing to do with it.” Such companies pursue commercial interests.

"They negotiate there themselves, the local rulers invite them at state level and thank them for the work they have done," Putin said, referring to Mali.

Ukraine war: These are the rulers in Putin's shadow army

The heads of the organization, which shows a portrait of the German composer Richard Wagner on its propaganda videos, are the Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin and the lieutenant colonel Dmitri Utkin.

As a sign of his admiration for music, Utkin goes by the nickname "Wagner".

After his career in the Russian military intelligence service GRU, he is said to have founded a rapid reaction force under his combat name from veterans of special forces from 2014 onwards.

"Dmitri Utkin is a great admirer of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler," according to documentary filmmakers Bolchakova and Jousset.

But Prigozhin is the direct liaison to the Kremlin.

Like Putin, the 62-year-old, who is wanted by the United States, comes from St. Petersburg.

"The former criminal who became one of the most powerful men in Russia is the pure product of an underworld of security militias, spies, secret service agents, mafia bosses and ex-convicts." , often served in his restaurant - which is why he is nicknamed "Putin's cook".

He is said to be a financier of the Wagner group, as Bolchakova and Jousset report.

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Ukraine war: NATO wants to take action against Russia's growing influence in Africa and the Middle East

The presentation of the documentation is also supported by current statements by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

An important topic of the NATO summit in Madrid was "how Russia and China continue to try to gain political, economic and military advantages in our southern neighborhood," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday with regard to the approach in the Middle East and Africa.

"Both Moscow and Beijing use economic leverage, coercion and hybrid approaches to assert their interests in the region," Stoltenberg said.

Therefore, among other things, "even more support for the partners in the region" was decided at the NATO summit.

The hybrid approaches could include the Wagner mercenaries