On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia’s state-owned energy company, Gazprom, is planning to create a private army, just like the Wagner Group.
Citing an order given by Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin last week, the report noted that Gazprom’s subsidiary, Gazprom Nafta, will own 70% of the new organisation, while the remaining 30% would be owned by private security organisation Staff-Tsentr under the law “On the security of the fuel and energy industry.”
Gazprom is establishing its own private army. Well, why not? If even wagner that was responsible for unimaginable atrocities in Syria, Ukraine, Africa isn't recognized a terrorist organization. surely, russia isn't a state sponsor of terrorism?
— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) February 7, 2023
Source: MoD intelligence pic.twitter.com/V1HXXsPDol
The law grants companies “the right to establish a private security organisation.” The report added that, “The ‘arms race’ continues in the Russian Federation among the main political players, who are actively creating private armies following the example of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s ‘Wagner PMC’.”
Wagner’s Role in Ukraine War
Currently, the Wagner Group has reportedly gained control over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. The private militia — with an estimated 20,000 troops mostly comprising prisoners in exchange for amnesty — fighting in Ukraine has proved to be a game-changer in the Russian invasion.
In October, an anonymous former high-ranking Wagner official, seeking asylum in France, confirmed that the Wagner Group was established under the Defence Ministry at the direction of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service. He further gave details of “how the state established a system of financing” and “how these secret units were involved in subversive work” in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine.
4/ Regardless of whether Wagner has reached the T0504, they are already close enough to the highway to substantially threaten Ukrainian supply capabilities along the route.
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) February 8, 2023
Sanctions Against Wagner Group
Though the US has announced sanctions against the Wagner Group and Prigozhin since 2017, its Department of Commerce introduced new restrictions related to technology exports in December, accusing them of “actively committing atrocities and human rights abuses across Ukraine.”
Additionally, last month, the Department of Treasury designated them as a “transnational criminal organisation” and imposed additional sanctions against the group and “its support network across multiple continents.”
The EU has imposed sanctions against the group, with the UN and France having accused them of committing rapes and robberies against civilians in the Central African Republic. In fact, Wagner mercenaries have also been accused of human rights abuses like torture and extrajudicial killings in Syria, Libya, Sudan, and Mozambique as well.
Wagner has already gone to Syria, Libya, and Mali, among other nations, and is actively involved in the Ukraine war, having recruited extensively in Russia's penal system.
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) February 3, 2023
Read more here:https://t.co/mdHEV7Tkfr
Furthermore, the US military held them responsible for planting landmines and other improvised explosive devices in and around the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in 2020.
Shoigu’s Private Military Company – Patriot
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu established another private military company called Patriot in 2018, which fought in Syria. According to a senior defence official, the Patriot company paid more and set better combat missions as compared to the Wagner Group.
In this respect, All-Russian Officers’ Assembly Committee Chairman Yevgeny Shabaev revealed that Patriot fighter’s salaries ranged between 400,000-1,000,000 rubles “depending on the specialisation,” for one to two month’s work. “While Wagner more often takes on combat missions, Patriot is more involved in protecting top officials,” a source said.