Opponents of the dark money paramilitary outfit hope an attack through the courtswhich they expect to take all the way to European Court of Human Rightswill expose the scale of the abuses carried out by the shadowy forces used to conceal the Kremlins off-the-books military adventures all over the world. A 2017 video posted online showed a group of armed people, reported to be Wagner contractors, torturing a Syrian man, beating him to death with a sledgehammer and cutting his head before mutilating and then burning his body. Lost in the desert, he appears to have sought refuge in al-Shaer gas field, where he was later tortured and killed. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. A new report by Frontline Forensics, a joint initiative of Arizona State University and the New America think tank, published on Tuesday explores the circumstances of Boutas death using company records and social media analysis. But researchers from groups such as Bellingcat and the Conflict Intelligence Team, as well as Russian journalists most notably from, An analysis of Russian social media groups for followers of the Wagner Group as well as the friend networks of individuals who shared details of Boutas murder online revealed a burgeoning online movement of Russian ultranationalists with an abiding interest in mercenary culture who claimed to have served in Russian military units,. Media and think tank reports indicate that natural gas extraction by EvroPolis, a firm Prigozhin holds a stake in according to U.S. authorities, generated about $162 million from al-Shaer and several other nearby gas fields in 2017, the same year Bouta was killed. Commanders briefed pilots and ground crews. If for some reason the case does not go forward in Moscow, Darwish said, it is likely that he, Novikov and others will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Vagner and other Russian private military companies have helped advance Moscow's influence efforts in regions beyond the Middle East, targeting countries that are often rich with natural resources and vulnerable to political influence from the outside. At least one Marine exposed himself to incoming fire as he used a missile guidance computer to find targets locations and pass them on to the commandos calling in the airstrikes. Having first appeared in 2014 in eastern Ukraine, where Wagner fighters trained and fought alongside separatist rebels against the Ukrainian army, the groups operatives have since cropped up everywhere from Venezuela to the Central African Republic, Syria, and Libya. Click + to receive email alerts for new stories written by At a vote at the UN General Assembly this week, Mali and Eritrea went from abstaining in comparablepast votes to joiningwith just five countries typically voting against motions criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine Syria, North Korea, Nicaragua, Belarus, and Russia itself. Subscribers can send in questions in advance. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. A CAR radio station,Lengo Sengo, was also sanctioned on charges of spreading disinformation on Wagner's behalf. The Wagner Group: Russia's Blackwater TRT World 2.02M subscribers Subscribe 3.9K 321K views 2 years ago From Ukraine to Syria to the Central African Wagner's presence in CAR soon led to the departure of a French-led international peacekeeping force in the country, as was the case even more abruptly last year in Mali. The demonstrations come as President Kais Saied depicts opponents and foreigners as threats to national security. Novikov said that Novaya Gazeta asked the Investigative Committee to open an inquiry into the murder, but the committee ignored the request. Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. Wagner has been reported as operating in a number of nations hit by conflict. Prigozhin, who had been charged by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller in early 2018, was slapped with new U.S. Treasury Department sanctions on September 30, in an announcement that also included photographs of three jets and a 122-foot yacht that purportedly belongs to Prigozhin or his companies. A new report by Frontline Forensics, a joint initiative of Arizona State University and the New America think tank. The others retreated under merciless airstrikes from the United States, returning later to retrieve their battlefield dead. None of the Americans at the small outpost in eastern Syria about 40 by the end of the firefight were harmed. An hour later, the enemy fighters had started to retreat and the American troops stopped firing. But researchers from groups such as Bellingcat and the Conflict Intelligence Team, as well as Russian journalists most notably from Novaya Gazeta and Fontanka, have been able to use fragments of publicly available information to build a clearer picture of who is fighting for Russias private military contractors abroad. There is a dynamic evolution in the fusion of Russian ultranationalist groups and Russian paramilitaries going on that nobody is really paying attention to or seeing yet, said Candace Rondeaux, a professor of practice in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University and the author of the report. Snippets of the video had been posted online since 2017 but the full footage was uploaded last week to a closed VKontakte group for members of Wagner. The sudden hit on Russia's economic ties with the West since invading Ukraine has also prompted the country to step up its diplomatic drive in Africa. Delivered Monday-Saturday. The group reportedly took its name from the nom de guerre of its leader, Dmitry Utkin, a retired Russian military officer. environment on the planet from our adversaries, Gen. Tony Thomas, the head of United States Special Operations Command, said recently, referring to electronic warfare. The newspaper has not released the mans full last name in order to protect his family from potential reprisals. U.S. officials warned that the group was recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat to fight in Ukraine. The reaction team sped toward the fight. The conflict is prolonged, involves heavy weaponry, civilians are impacted in a substantial way, human rights violations and war crimes increase substantially, and theres no access to justice for victims., https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/world/europe/wagner-group-russia-ukraine.html. One person sanctioned by the EU was described as "the security advisor" to PresidentFaustin Archange-Touadera. Twitter:@ak_mack, NEW FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Close to Russian government but nominally independent, private military contractors give the Kremlin a degree of plausible deniability and have complicated efforts by Western policymakers to formulate a response. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. Saturday's additional sanctions were decided "in view of the international dimension and gravity of the group's activities, as well as its destabilizing impact on the countries where it is active,"said a statement from the European Council. And how might that be impacting the world? by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. But as well as disputing Wagner's presence, Russia said it would "actively participate in collective efforts to stabilize the situation" and "develop a multifaceted cooperation with Burkina Faso," including potentially training the country's military. The fighters were reportedly wounded in a United States airstrike near the city. A curated selection of our very best long reads. Russia has played all sides in the conflict to get a seat at the negotiating table. The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukrainebut not everything. In another part of the video that originally surfaced in 2017, the four men laugh to a soundtrack of Russian rock music as they use a sledgehammer to crush the hand of a man shown pinned to the ground wearing bloodied civilian clothes in what appears to be an industrial zone. Russia and the US have both been on repeated diplomatic missions to Africa since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, trying to win allies and explain their positions as the fighting has serious knock-on impacts for food and fuel prices for some of the poorest parts of the world. The United States troops on the ground, now roughly 40 in all, braced their defenses as the mercenaries left their vehicles and headed toward the outpost on foot. A handful of Marines ran ammunition to machine guns and Javelin missile launchers scattered along the berms and wedged among the trucks. The details of the Feb. 7 firefight were gleaned from interviews and documents newly obtained by The New York Times. A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers. He has previously denied any links to the group, though various investigations have linked him to its activities. Boutas slaying is symptomatic of the accountability vacuum in which the Wagner Group operates. It wasnt until November 2019, when further videos emerged, that journalists were able to identify the perpetrators as well as the victim. Footage of the summary killing of Yevgeny Nuzhin was posted over the weekend by the Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone. Relations between the United States and China seem to be getting frostier by the day. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States Central Command has refined the amount of equipment, logistics, coordination and tactics required to mix weapons fired from both the air and ground. Stroytransgaz, or STG, the company headed by Kremlin-insider Timchenko, is one of the largest such investors, and in February it secured a $22 million production sharing agreement with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to The Syria Report, an online journal that tracks economic developments in the country. The company is widely believed to be controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime associate of Vladimir Putin who once served as the Russian president's chef. Visitors wearing military camouflage at the Wagner Centre office building in St Petersburg. It was unclear, however, whether that case would move forward after federal prosecutors working under the Trump administration dropped charges against Prigozhins St. Petersburg-based firm Concord Consulting and Management in connection with the case. And how might that be impacting the world? With Russia suffering heavy losses, according to U.S. intelligence, Mr. Putin is sending battle-hardened reinforcements with experience into Ukraine, according to experts, including Jeremy Fleming, the director of Britains electronic surveillance agency. which was captured on video at the In April, the French army released imagery from drone cameras that showed Wagner Group soldiers laying out dead bodies in the sand near a French army base in Mali after the French withdrew. Around 300 Wagner fighters are believed to have been killed or wounded in a firefight with U.S.-led Kurdish forces in Syria in February 2018. At 3 p.m. the Syrian force began edging toward the Conoco plant. The Wagner Group itself was already placed under EU sanctions in 2021, the US recently labeled it a "transnational criminal organization.". The Wagner Group has achieved near-mythical status in the Russian and international press in recent years for its role in Russias interference efforts abroad, but there is no evidence that a single registered entity called Wagner exists, said Jack Margolin, a senior analyst with the nonprofit Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), which provided analytical support for the report. By one estimate from Harvard University, more than 130,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or severely wounded, in addition to the deaths of more than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians. U.S. forces clashed with pro-Syrian government forces, the, of which are believed to have been Russian mercenaries, in Syrias Deir Ezzor province in 2018. Two years after the United States clashed with some sort of Wagner Group contingent in Deir Ezzor, the United States government still doesnt know anything about the organizational structure of these military contingents, Rondeaux said. They inspected their weapons and ensured the trucks were loaded with anti-tank missiles, thermal optics and food and water. Afterwards, the men posed for a photograph with the suspended body, across the torso of which they wrote: For the VDV [Russian airborne forces] and an out-of-focus word that appears to say razvedka, a term for military intelligence. Kremlin-backed mercenary soldiers who worked for the Wagner Group could be tested in the Russian courts for the very first time after an all-star team of human rights lawyers filed a case in Moscow accusing the militants of the torture and beheading of a man in Syria. Companies linked to the Wagner group are snapping up oil and gas leaseswith an eye to pumping influence, not oil. The firefight was described by the Pentagon as an act of self-defense against a unit of pro-Syrian government forces. Questioned about the clip and Novaya Gazeta's report, the Kremlin denied any knowledge of the men depicted. Rather than being a single organization, Wagner is an opaque network of titular companies and private military contractors that simultaneously further the Kremlins interests abroad while lining the pockets of those involved by gaining access to lucrative energy and natural resources mining contracts in the countries in which they operate. February's report into the Wagner Group had concluded that: "Looking ahead, it appears that Wagner is looking to expand into new territories in Africa, even as some of its troops have been drawn into supporting Russia's increasingly long-term war in Ukraine.". The Conoco outpost was hit with a mixture of tank fire, large artillery and mortar rounds, the documents show. This has absolutely no relation to Russian soldiers, no matter what is being published about it, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin. Despite the Kremlins denial of any ties to Wagner, Mr. Utkin has been photographed next to Mr. Putin. His wife, according to the newspaper, deactivated her social media account when she received follow-up questions from its reporter. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. The documents reveal that the company. Following his capture by Ukrainian forces in September, Nuzhin gave a series of interviews in the country, in which he said he had joined the Wagner group to get out of prison and that he quickly hatched a plan to surrender to Ukraine. Late last November, videos of a gruesome killing went viral on Russian social networks. It included some Syrian government soldiers and militias, but American military and intelligence officials have said a majority were private Russian paramilitary mercenaries and most likely a part of the Wagner Group, a company often used by the Kremlin to carry out objectives that officials do not want to be connected to the Russian government. Syrian authorities arrested Bouta as he crossed the border and turned him over to members of the Syrian military. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? Flashes from tank muzzles, antiaircraft weapons and machine guns lit up the air. The most pointed criticisms of the war are coming from those charged with fighting it. Investigative paper wants atrocities of alleged Russian mercenaries in Syria probed after graphic VIDEO In the video, the men urge each other on to greater violence, telling one to cut harder while beheading the victim. More ways to stay updated on global news: By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. The private Russian military force, which has close ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been used in war zones across the world, The researchers social network analysis also revealed substantial cross-affiliation with Rusich, a Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group that has operated in eastern Ukraine. At 1 a.m., with the artillery fire dwindling, the team of Marines and Green Berets pulled up to the Conoco outpost and began firing. And at a minimum, squaring off in crowded battlefields has added to heightened tensions between Russia and the United States as they each seek to exert influence in the Middle East. The Wagner Group is believed to be owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin often referred to as Amy Mackinnon. While it is not clear whether U.S authorities would pursue further sanctions against Prigozhin, Timchenko, or any of the other entities implicated in reporting and legal filings on Boutas case the facts certainly suggest that American investigators in Washington will be tracking its outcome closely. In a phone interview with The Daily Beast on Saturday, Darwish said that the case against the six Wagner Group paramilitaries is being lodged under articles in the Russian criminal code that call for the prosecution of anyone implicated in torture, grievous bodily injury, and murder. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was indicted in the United States for attempted interference in the 2016 presidential election, is widely regarded as the driving force behind the mercenary group. Putins Russian Critics AreGrowingEver Louder, The Conversation About Ukraine Is Cracking Apart, The State Departments Lack of Diversity Is Bad for U.S. But, as in many other developing countries, Syrias nationalized energy sector is highly reliant on external backing from foreign firms for capital-intensive upstream investment in exploration and development. Xi Jinpings signature foreign policy is a shadow of its former self.. The entity first emerged in 2014, during Russias annexation of Crimea. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a wide-ranging conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the Biden administrations trade and economic policiesand the impacts they have on the world. The American commandos took cover, then ran behind dirt berms to fire anti-tank missiles and machine guns at the advancing column of armored vehicles. .. On the tenth anniversary of the Syrian revolution last year, a complaint against the Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner was filed in The Ukraine The perpetrators, who have not yet been charged, were identified by the Russian independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta as private military security contractors for the so-called Wagner Group. Expanding Influence Delivered Monday-Friday. Allegations of the Wagner Groups involvement in the torture and murder of al-Abdullah, who is better known by his nicknames, Hamdi or Hamadi Bouta, first emerged in June 2017 when a two-minute long video clip of the killing surfaced in an anonymous post on a Reddit subchannel popular with military geeks. What is the Wagner Group? WebAmerican intelligence officials say that the Wagner Group, known by the nickname of the retired Russian officer who leads it, is in Syria to seize oil and gas fields and protect them Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. Late last November, videos of a gruesome killing went viral on Russian social networks. Delivered Friday. The newspaper identifies the man by his first name and the first letter of his surname but withholds his full name amid concerns for his family's safety. In the days leading up to the attack, and on opposite sides of the Euphrates River, Russia and the United States were backing separate offensives against the Islamic State in Syrias oil-rich Deir al-Zour Province, which borders Iraq. Russian corporate records and customs documents reviewed by C4ADS as well as EvroPolis company records provided by the London-based Dossier Center show that the company was offered a 25 percent share of the revenues of Syrian oil and gas fields it was able to seize from the Islamic State. American warplanes arrived in waves, including Reaper drones, F-22 stealth fighter jets, F-15E Strike Fighters, B-52 bombers, AC-130 gunships and AH-64 Apache helicopters. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. "The advent of the digital age means [such companies'] activities are often hidden in plain sight, and disinformation is no longer a fail-safe remedy when the secrecy of covert operations is compromised.". Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. Back at the mission support site, the Green Berets and Marines were preparing a small reaction force roughly 16 troops in four mine-resistant vehicles in case they were needed at the Conoco plant. The number of casualties from the Feb. 7 fight is in dispute. Prigozhin is also believed to have created and funded the Internet Research Agency, an online "troll farm" that U.S. authorities have charged with waging a propaganda-and-influence campaign in a bid to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russian Paramilitaries Accused of Torture and Beheading in Landmark Legal Case Against Wagner Group IN THE DOCK The Kremlin-backed Wagner Group will be It sheds new light on the networks operations and reveals how the killing became a rallying point for Russian ultranationalists online. Their shadowy existence allows Russia to downplay its battlefield casualties and distance itself from atrocities committed by Wagner fighters, observers say. Neither Timchenko nor Prigozhin are expressly named in connection with Boutas killing. What government officials are saying in public, and private, is fascinatingand full of contradictions. A few days later, Novaya Gazeta, one of Russias only remaining independent daily news outlets, published a report naming Stanislav Dychko as one of several Russian nationals depicted in the video. They cant say that this is just a political issue or propaganda because we are bringing this case in Russian courts, under Russian law. WebHistria Fundao. Subscribers can send in questions in advance. A father of four from Syrias Deir Ezzor governorate, Bouta travelled to Lebanon in 2016 in search of work in the construction industry as large swaths of the region came under Islamic State control. Youre on the list! Wagner is estimated to have as many as 2,500 men in Syria. I Was Moscows Chief Rabbi. The companies hit by sanctions included gold and diamond mining operations in the CAR and Sudan. Hopefully, this will open the door for all the crimes committed by the Wagner Group not only in Syria, said Mazen Darwish, one of several human rights activists pressing for justice in the case and director general of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression.
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