Their structure allows them to have plausible deniability and to create distance between the Russian state and the group, she said. A member of the group can be overheard discussing whether they should cover their faces before one says theres no point, as the video is not going to go anywhere., Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. Subscribers can send in questions in advance. At worst, officials and experts have said, it could plunge both countries into bloody conflict. In Syria, A Mutilated Corpse, Video Evidence, And New Scrutiny For Russian Mercenaries. U.N. investigators and rights groups say Wagner troops have targeted civilians, conducted mass executions and looted private property in conflict zones. This style of hybrid warfare has become a cornerstone of Russias efforts to project its interests abroad. Tonight, his family announced they had received news of his death under torture in Sednaya Prison. But in recent weeks, according to United States military officials, they have jammed the communications of smaller American drones and gunships such as the type used in the attack. Others remained in their trucks, using a combination of thermal screens and joysticks to control and fire the heavy machine guns affixed on their roofs. The open source investigation team Bellingcat also said it had identified the same person. And how might that be impacting the world? These soldiers are likely to be used as cannon fodder to try to limit Russian military losses, he has said. 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. The newspaper has not released the mans full last name in order to protect his family from potential reprisals. A U.S. military convoy drives on a Syrian highway on September 29, 2017. The Kremlin said on Thursday it had no knowledge of the incident. In the video, the men urge each other on to greater violence, telling one to cut harder while beheading the victim. Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. Before he was killed, Bouta said Russian speaking soldiers had press ganged him and several others in custody at al-Draij into fighting contingents deployed to Homs to seize and protect oil and gas infrastructure. The shaky cell phone footage taken at al-Shaer gas plant near Palmyra, Syria, shows a Syrian man, who was known to friends and family as Hamdi Bouta, lying on the ground, surrounded by Russian-speaking men in military fatigues. Then as now, the Kremlin denied any ties to Vagner, but the incident put major pressure on Russia to explain the presence of private mercenaries. On March 27, 2017, Bouta traveled across the border from Lebanon into Syria at the Beirut-Damascus crossing with a group of young men from his village. Wagner 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. In its report published late on November 20, Novaya Gazeta identified one of the men shown in the clip as a former police officer from the southern Russia region of Stavropol who promised to "represent the interests of Russia abroad" in a form he allegedly submitted to Vagner upon joining the organization in 2016. The newspaper ties the men to Vagner, a shadowy Russian mercenary group widely believed to be spearheading the expansion of Russian influence across Africa and the Middle East. 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. 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. Between 200 to 300 fighters were killed in the battle, including scores of Russian mercenaries believed to be working in the region to seize control of a nearby gas plant on behalf of EvroPolis. Mourning has consumed Xinjiang scholars for a region they can no longer reach. Captured wounded fighters of Russias Wagner mercenary group: Ilya, 30, left, and Mikhail, 35, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Monday. 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. 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. In interviews, United States military officials said they had watched with dread hundreds of approaching rival troops, vehicles and artillery pieces in the week leading up to the attack. Known colloquially as the Wagner Group, the contingent has been linked to a network of Russian firms that U.S. and European authorities say are financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a key player in Putins inner circle known as Putins chef. Although the Wagner Group has been implicated in several violations of international law, including skirting a UN arms embargo in Libya, the Moscow legal filing on Boutas case marks the first time that any official complaint has been brought in court against the private security contingent in connection with an alleged war crime. Syrias government controls oil, gas, and mineral production and export, and Syrias General Petroleum Company sets strategy for exploration and development and supervises national subsidiaries, including the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) and Syrian Gas Company (SGC). It wasnt until November 2019, when further videos emerged, that journalists were able to identify the perpetrators as well as the victim. The brief filed on Friday in connection with Boutas case contends that the Russian government holds effective control over the Russian private military contingent that killed Bouta during operations at the al-Shaer gas plant. 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. 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.". Russia 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. Is it? WebIts also the call sign of the groups unconfirmed leader, Dmitry Utkin, a former Russian military intelligence lieutenant, Wagner fan and suspected neo-Nazi. He said Russia seemed to be turning to them to bolster its troops in the east of Ukraine because the group already had experience fighting in the Donbas region for the past eight years. 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,. Vagner's operations have always been shrouded in secrecy, but its role in Syria came into the spotlight in February 2018 when U.S. military commanders launched a massive ground and air assault against a column of fighters and weaponry in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. The Wagner Group itself was already placed under EU sanctions in 2021, the US recently labeled it a "transnational criminal organization.". A billboard in Bangui with the slogan "The Central African Republic is hand in hand with Russia" (file photo), published what it claimed was the victim's name. Create an FP account to save articles to read later and in the FP mobile app. Twitter:@ak_mack, NEW FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Questioned about the clip and Novaya Gazeta's report, the Kremlin denied any knowledge of the men depicted. When the civil war began, he traveled to Lebanon to find construction work after the situation in Syria deteriorated and large parts of Deir Ezzor came under ISIS control, according to an account of Boutas final days given to lawyers by his family. 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. The case is being lodged jointly by lawyers and advocates associated with Darwishs organization, the Memorial Human Rights Center in Moscow, and the International Federation for Human Rights in Paris. Commanders of the rival militaries had long steered clear of the other by speaking through often-used deconfliction telephone lines. 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. Alexander Malkevich, whose employees were detained in Libya, is part of Moscows efforts to create a concert of chaos around the globe. Theywere Wagner commanders said to be linked to Russia's capture of the town of Soledar in Ukraine in January. Visitors wearing military camouflage at the Wagner Centre office building in St Petersburg. Russias Wagner Group have as much power in Kremlin as ministers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The report also revealed that at least one of the Russian-speaking men in the video had fought in the embattled region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine before traveling to Syria to work for a contingent affiliated to the Wagner Group. Delivered Thursday. Delivered Monday-Saturday. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? FPs Ravi Agrawal spoke with two of the very best Russia experts:Angela Stent, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author ofPutins World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest, and Michael Kofman, the research program director of the Russia studies program at the Center for Naval Analyses. Expanding Influence They are the Swiss Army knives of modern Russian warfare and serve as force multipliers, arms merchants, trainers of local military and security personnel, and political consultants, according to a recent report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The 20-mile drive was made all the more difficult since the trucks did not turn on their headlights, relying solely on thermal-imaging cameras to navigate. The mercenary, who was been identified as Stanislav D by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, is a former police officer from the Stavropol region in southern Russia. Investigative paper wants atrocities of alleged Russian mercenaries in Syria probed after graphic VIDEO Ilya Nuzhin, Yevgenys son, confirmed to the Guardian on Monday that the man in the video was his father but declined to give further comments, citing security concerns. The group reportedly took its name from the nom de guerre of its leader, Dmitry Utkin, a retired Russian military officer. "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.". Contacted by Novaya Gazeta, relatives and friends of the Russian man, named as Stanislav D., either did not respond or denied any affiliation with him. horus of lawmakers in Europe and Asia have begun to say the United States is fostering unfair competition. He married and started a family. 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. Wagner forces have appeared in Ukraine, presumably to fight alongside Russian troops in Mr. Putins war. A disturbing clip of an execution in Syria has prompted a Russian newspaper to investigate links between the torturers and the shadowy Wagner Group. which was captured on video at the Increasingly, theyve become more formalized and have started acting more like Western military contractors. Hes a graduate of Harvards Davis Center and a recipient of New York University's Reporting Award and the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Journalism Award. Commanders briefed pilots and ground crews. A curated selection of our very best long reads. 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. "Yet, [private military companies] also pose substantial risks for a regime determined to keep a lid on domestic outcry over its military adventurism and to manage blowback," the report said. American 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 on behalf of the Assad government. to the research by Frontline Forensics, which was published by New America. 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. Some of the Green Berets and Marines took aim from exposed hatches. Its mercenaries have also fought in Ukraine and the Central African Republic, and are said to be active in Libya, Sudan and Mozambique. 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. Russian Paramilitaries Accused of Torture and Beheading in Landmark Legal Case Against Wagner Group IN THE DOCK The Kremlin-backed Wagner Group will be Amy Mackinnon Boutas slaying is symptomatic of the accountability vacuum in which the Wagner Group operates. Delivered Friday. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. In Syria, A Mutilated Corpse, Video Evidence, And New Scrutiny A CAR radio station,Lengo Sengo, was also sanctioned on charges of spreading disinformation on Wagner's behalf. Nuzhin, 55, had been serving a 24-year prison sentence for a murder he committed in 1999 when he was freed in July and conscripted into Wagner, a notorious military group run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful Russian businessman and a close ally of Vladimir Putin. Click + to receive email alerts for new stories written by The video published by Novaya Gazeta appears to be just one instalment of a series of clips that record the same incident at the hands of Russian-speaking fighters, including the victim's torture, mutilation, and, ultimately, decapitation. The Wagner Group is a mercenary firm that has been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine. A half-hour later, the Russian mercenaries and Syrian forces struck. 'There's no one to help': Russian mercenary industry's toll on families, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The Conoco outpost was hit with a mixture of tank fire, large artillery and mortar rounds, the documents show. The Paris-based Syrian investigative news site, Want to read more on this topic or region? 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 latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. Gruesome Soundtrack Delivered Thursday. on Tuesday explores the circumstances of Boutas death using company records and social media analysis. EvroPolis was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 for being owned or controlled by Prigozhin. Although on Western radars for some time, the group and the extent of its activities has come more clearly to light sinceRussia's invasion of Ukraine with Moscow no longer flatly denying the organization's existence, and Prigozhin having come forward and confirmed suspicions of his leadership role in the group. 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. But Medvedev said he wasn't afraid. Between 200 to 300 fighters were killed in the battle, including scores of Russian mercenaries, to be working in the region to seize control of a nearby gas plant on behalf of EvroPolis. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said he had not had time to watch the video. Lost in the desert, he appears to have sought refuge in al-Shaer gas field, where he was later tortured and killed. With Putins help, Assad has constrained the capacity of the United Nations to deliver health supplies in opposition-controlled territory, which faces rising risk of the coronavirus. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. 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. The Kremlin on Monday sought to distance itself from the video, which has been widely discussed on Russian social media, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying it was not our business. Lawyers and human rights advocates involved in the Moscow case say the complaint marks an important first step toward bringing Russian mercenaries affiliated with the Wagner Group to account for a host of war crimes committed not only in Syria but Libya and the Central African Republic, where several related firms linked to a well-connected Kremlin insider and a one-time Russian intelligence official have reportedly been operating since at least 2017. Novaya Gazeta called on Russian law enforcement to investigate the case. In the American air operations center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and at the Pentagon, confounded military officers and intelligence analysts watched the scene unfold. But he denied that Russia's armed forces had any connection to the incident. Bracing for an attack, the Green Berets prepared to launch the reaction force. In leaked documents, he wrote that he joined Wagner in 2016 to protect the interests of the Russian Federation abroad. Russia has played all sides in the conflict to get a seat at the negotiating table. Ever since Washington passed its Inflation Reduction Act, which provides subsidies and investment opportunities for clean energy initiatives, a cShow morehorus of lawmakers in Europe and Asia have begun to say the United States is fostering unfair competition. Youd better believe its terrifying, Rondeaux said. American military officials repeatedly warned about the growing mass of troops. They inspected their weapons and ensured the trucks were loaded with anti-tank missiles, thermal optics and food and water. The Paris-based Syrian investigative news site Jesr Press was able to piece together the most detailed account of Boutas life and how he came to be captured by Russian mercenaries. 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. By early evening, more than 500 troops and 27 vehicles including tanks and armored personnel carriers had amassed. Thousands of Russian contractors fought in Syria alongside a 2015 military intervention by Putin that helped turn the tide in the countrys civil war and saved the government of Bashar al-Assad. Advocacy groups from Russia, France and Syria have filed a legal case against Russian mercenary group Wagner, accusing its fighters of torturing and beheading a Syrian man in 2017. Were going to Moscow, to their territory, to their courts, and to their jurisdiction, Darwish said. Family members of a former Russian prison inmate, who defected to Ukraine after being recruited by the Kremlin-linked private military group Wagner, have expressed horror over his apparent execution after a gruesome video emerged on Friday that showed him being repeatedly struck with a sledgehammer. 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. One of the individuals sanctioned on Saturday came under an EU sanctions regime for Mali specifically. Their presence, in the eastern region known as Donbas that is home to Russia-backed separatist groups, raises concerns, given the groups history. The firefight was described by the Pentagon as an act of self-defense against a unit of pro-Syrian government forces. At this point, members of the group Bouta was traveling with notified Boutas brother-in-law, who was in Lebanon at the time, that the Syrian military had taken Bouta into custody. Apostols family have reportedly confirmed that he worked as a private security contractor in Syria, and that he was one of several hundred Russians killed in a U.S. airstrike in the northeastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor. Initially, Russian officials said only four Russian citizens but perhaps dozens more were killed; a Syrian officer said around 100 Syrian soldiers had died. 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. In the end, 200 to 300 of the attacking fighters were killed. He said he directed Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for the force, then, to be annihilated.. An image uploaded to social media shortly before the article was published shows four men posing before a decapitated body in what appears to be the same spot shown in the videos. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. The lawsuit marks the first known attempt to bring to account anyone linked to the highly secretive network of covert operators financed and managed by close inner-circle associates of President Vladimir Putin. 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. And neither the United States government understands how terrifying it is nor do its European allies.. MOSCOW -- The graphic video shows four men in camouflage gear exchanging jokes in unaccented Russian as they pour flammable liquid over a man's mutilated corpse strung up on two wooden beams. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. Delivered Monday-Friday. 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. Before setting it alight and watching it burn as they pose for the camera, they scrawl a Russian phrase praising the country's airborne forces on its chest. After his brief stint in the Syrian Arab Army, Bouta went to work in the construction industry, working primarily as a bricklayer. The video, which appears to have been taken in 2017, showed several men in military-style clothing beating a prisoner with a sledgehammer, then beheading him, amputating his arms with a sappers trowel and setting his body on fire using gasoline or another accelerant. His wife, according to the newspaper, deactivated her social media account when she received follow-up questions from its reporter. The details of the Feb. 7 firefight were gleaned from interviews and documents newly obtained by The New York Times. 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. In the past month, the number of Wagner troops in the country has more than tripled to over 1,000. .. On the tenth anniversary of the Syrian revolution last year, a complaint against the Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner was filed in At 8:30 p.m., three Russian-made T-72 tanks vehicles weighing nearly 50 tons and armed with 125-millimeter guns moved within a mile of the Conoco plant. The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukrainebut not everything. WebPosted by 2 days ago. Ilya Novikov, one of the Russian attorneys who filed the ground-breaking legal complaint, said in a written statement that he and his co-counsel Petr Zaikin, decided to initiate the case after a demand for Russias Investigative Committee, the countrys top prosecutorial body, apparently fell flat. The private Russian military force, which has close ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been used in war zones across the world, is expanding its presence in Ukraine. Its a really adaptable network, which makes it hard to target, but also hard to talk about, said Margolin of C4ADS. The victim is reported to be Mohammad Taha al Ismail Abdallah of Deir ez-Zor, whom the contractors accused of deserting from the Syrian army. Vagner is one of the best-known of several Russian private military companies that have come into being over the past decade. U.S. forces clashed with pro-Syrian government forces, the majority of which are believed to have been Russian mercenaries, in Syrias Deir Ezzor province in 2018. In the interviews, he also criticised the Russian leadership and expressed his desire to join the Ukrainian forces and fight against Moscow. Questions remain about exactly who the Russian mercenaries were, and why they attacked. A similar melding of public and nominally private entities was used in 2016 in a bid to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, with Russian military hackers stealing emails and documents from the Hillary Clinton campaign while the so-called troll factory, allegedly funded by Prigozhin, sought to fuel divisions between American voters. Is it? Theres a trend or pattern around what happens when Wagner is involved in an armed conflict, Dr. MacLeod said. I Was Moscows Chief Rabbi. 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. 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. $162 million from oil and gas fields in central Syria in 2017 alone. The entity first emerged in 2014, during Russias annexation of Crimea. The private Russian military force, which has close ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been used in war zones across the world, The military dependence of the CAR administration on Wagner has translated into a very influential political role for the mercenary organization," the report said. But later they appear to let their guard down, as one says: Hide your faces well, whatever, this video wont go up anywhere anyway.. At 3 p.m. the Syrian force began edging toward the Conoco plant. Then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told Congress that a "a couple hundred Russians" were killed in the attack. 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. The companies hit by sanctions included gold and diamond mining operations in the CAR and Sudan. Novaya Gazeta said it had first identified Stanislav D using online facial recognition software, then corroborated the results by showing he was a member of the private military company using a leaked copy of his passport. 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. sarah n tuned real name, accident on belt parkway last night, Gazeta called on Russian law enforcement to investigate links between the torturers and the shadowy Wagner Group explores the of! Name from the nom de guerre of its leader, Dmitry Utkin, a spokesman for President Putin. Was published by New America have as much power in Kremlin as,. Russias annexation of Crimea one of the town of Soledar in Ukraine, to. On Russian law enforcement to investigate the case get a seat at the Increasingly theyve! His desire to join the Ukrainian forces and fight against Moscow killed in the country each week building in Petersburg... 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