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|March 29, 2022
March 31, 2022 – The war in Ukraine, who is actually involved there? On the front line, an ominous mercenary force is also said to be fighting for Russia. The so-called “Wagner Group.” Their mission is to kill, among others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Klitschko brothers, according to media reports. The fact is: the Wagner Group is considered extremely brutal and it operates in secret
April 29, 2022 – Vladimir Putin has dispatched a ruthless, brutal group of Russian mercenaries to Ukraine. Although not part of the Russian government, the Wagner Group has been used by the Russians as a tool of their foreign policy. Brian Ross investigates the recent reports of their activity and how the United States has been keeping a close eye on them.
June 8, 2022 – In a major setback for Putin, a key member of Russia’s dreaded mercenary force, the Wagner Group, has been killed in eastern Ukraine. Vladimir Andonov is said to have been gunned down by a Ukrainian sniper in the Kharkiv region. Andonov was known as one of Putin’s most notorious mercenaries and was dubbed “The Executioner” His death was first reported by a Russian publication which wrote that Andonov died “during a reconnaissance mission together with his friend.” The mercenary has become the latest high-profile Russian fighter to meet his end in Ukraine.
00:00 INTRODUCTION
1:44 WHO WAS VLADIMIR ANDONOV?
3:52 WHAT IS THE WAGNER GROUP?
November 19, 2022
January 6, 2023 – Wagner group has delivered the promised pardons to the inmates recruited for Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. The prisoners-turned-combatants have reportedly been offered amnesty in exchange for six-months of service in Ukraine. The move was announced by Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a video released on January 5. Watch the vide to find how Wagner recruited Russian prisoners for the war.
January 10, 2023 – The Wagner Group is a private paramilitary force that was founded in 2014 after Moscow annexed Crimea. The group is founded by Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin who is close to President Vladamir Putin. Prigozhinw also has a catering business and was once called ‘Putin’s Chef.’ The Wagner group recruited Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, promising they will be free men when they return, if they survive the war. The British defence ministry says it appears Russia has taken control of much of the salt mining town of Soledar. It is near Bakhmut, where troops on both sides have suffered heavy losses. Pavel Felgenhauer is a defense and military analyst and joins us on Skype from Moscow. He explains how the Wagner Group has managed to strengthen its presence in Ukraine.
February 20, 2023 – ABC News’ Patrick Reevell reports that some in the U.S want to label The Wagner Group, a secretive Russian paramilitary unit operating in Ukraine, as a terrorist organization.
February 14, 2023 – On January 10, 2023, the Ukrainian town of Soledar was reportedly captured. But it wasn’t captured by the Russian army under Vladimir Putin’s command. The announcement came from a relatively unknown man, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who said his troops now controlled the town. The troops are part of the Wagner Group, a private army that has become a prominent force alongside Russian troops in the war against Ukraine. But they aren’t new. They’ve been secretly fighting for Russia around the world since 2014. In this video, we take a look at their playbook and examine the three main steps they use to spread Russian influence around the world in brutal ways. We also look at how they’ve transformed from a ghost army to a recognizable private military group with insignias and an online brand, changing the nature of this secret group and its role in the world.
March 10, 2023 – Wagner fighters are the vast majority of the huge Russian casualties in Bakhmut.
March10, 2023 – The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had been cut off from all government communication channels on March 9. This comes after Prigozhin’s recent public plea to the Russian MoD to supply ammunition to his fighters in Ukraine. Over the years Prigozhin rose from a convict to Putin’s chef to the head of Russia’s paramilitary organization. But is he getting snubbed now, watch the video to find out more.
0:00 – INTRODUCTION
1:08 – WHAT IS THE WAGNER GROUP?
1:49 – TRACING PRIGOZHIN’S JOURNEY
2:56 – RIFT BETWEEN WAGNER AND RUSSIAN MILITARY
March 10, 2023 – The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been the focus of months of fierce combat and both sides have sustained heavy losses in the battle for the town. Moscow says Bakhmut’s capture will help its forces secure the surrounding Donbas region, a major war aim. NATO has warned that Bakhmut could fall to Russia “in the coming days” but said it would “not necessarily reflect any turning point in the war.”
May 5, 2023 – Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia’s Wagner Group mercenary force, said in a sudden announcement that his forces would leave the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut that they have been trying to capture since last summer. Prigozhin said they would pull back on May 10 – ending their involvement in the longest and bloodiest battle of the Ukraine conflict – because of heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies.
May 5, 2023 – In breaking news regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the founder of the Russian mercenary group known as Wagner says his forces will leave the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut early next week. Yevgeny Prigozhin earlier published this video, filmed in front of dozens of corpses he said were Wagner soldiers. He blamed Russia’s top defense officials for heavy losses and accused them of starving his forces of ammunition. The Wagner group has spearheaded Russian attempts to capture Bakhmut since last summer.
May 8, 2023 – CNN military analyst Col. Cedric Leighton (ret.) explains why Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s decision to keep his troops in Bakhmut could prove costly for the group.
June 9, 2023 – The Wall Street Journal’s latest documentary “Shadow Men: Inside Russia’s Secret War Company” goes deep inside the lethal global expansion of the Russian private military company Wagner — tracing the group’s evolution from a small, guns-for-hire operation into a sprawling network of businesses that has been active on four continents. Through interviews with current and former Wagner fighters, government insiders, victims of attacks and war crimes investigators, the film reveals how the group is hiding the flow of riches and resources through a complex network of front companies that ultimately connect to the Kremlin.
00:00 – What is Wagner and who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?
03:36 – How the Wagner Group operates
06:16 – Wagner’s origins
10:36 – A new business model in Syria
17:24 – Wagner’s expansion into Africa
19:59 – Wagner’s Africa playbook: guns and gold
27:13 – The war in Ukraine, Wagner steps out of the shadows
36:09 – Wagner’s future
July 10, 2023 – President Vladimir Putin met Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in Moscow, five days after the mercenary chief led an armed rebellion in Russia, the Kremlin confirms. Moscow says it foiled Ukrainian attacks on Rostov and Kaluga, which are part of Russia, and on Russia-occupied Crimea. Kyiv says Ukrainian troops have made a ‘definitive advance’ on the southern flank of Bakhmut as part of the country’s counteroffensive. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will discuss extending the grain deal set to expire next week, with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
July 11, 2023 – A mutiny in Russia by Wagner mercenaries exposed cracks in Vladimir Putin’s authority. The man behind the uprising, Yevgeny Prigozhin, used to be a trusted fixer in Putin’s inner circle, before defying the president. Richard Engel has been tracking Prigozhin for years and tells the story of his rise from his early days as a petty criminal in St. Petersburg, to becoming the head of a global private military company active in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa and even meddling in U.S. elections.
August 23, 2023 – Update from Ukraine – Wagner boss kaput – What is next? Ukraine liberated Robotine.
August 23, 2023 – An expert panel joins CNN to discuss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group, who was reportedly on board a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow, according to the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency.
August 24, 2023 – Wagner’s boss jet falls from the sky | Mi-8 pilot defects to Ukraine.
August 24, 2023 – ‘Public execution’ of Prigozhin won’t stop a new rebellion. Killing rebellious Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin will only delay the ‘next rebellion’ in Russia, says Ukrainian MP and leader of Holos party Kira Rudik. “For us, it’s less highly trained enemies, fighting at the front. However, I think it will indeed prolong the time until the next rebellion can appear in Russia.”
August 24, 2023 – Condolences offered by the Russian president are ‘typical hypocrisy’; of Vladimir Putin, says General Jack Keane.
August 24, 2023 – The private jet that had Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin listed as a passenger plummeted more than 8,000 feet within 30 seconds despite no fault in the aircraft. Reports now say the plane may have been sabotaged by a “bomb hidden in a wine crate”. Prigozhin’s reported death in a plane crash comes just 2 months after his brief mutiny that rattled the Kremlin. Now, officials at the highest levels of government around the world are speculating that Prigozhin’s death is “Putin’s revenge”. In 2018, Putin admitted that it is impossible for him to forgive “betrayal”, something his “chef”, Prigozhin displeased him with in June. Was this Putin’s way to making Prigozhin pay for his rebellion?
0:00 – Introduction
0:38 – Prigozhin’s Mysterious Death 60 Days After Wagner Mutiny
1:04 – Did Something Explode on Prigozhin’s Plane?
2:25 – Putin’s Way to Make Prigozhin Pay for His Rebellion?
4:05 – What Putin Could Gain From Prigozhin’s Assassination
August 24, 2023 – Putin successfully eliminated Yevgeny Prigozhin and other top Wagner commanders by luring them to Moscow for a private meeting and then shooting down their airplane with a missile. A Russian helicopter pilot has defected to Ukraine with his helicopter to collect the $500,000 reward. Ukraine successfully destroyed an S-400 air defense system in Crimea with a Storm Shadow strike.