1 A decade of entrenching Russian interests abroad
1. On 24 June 2023, thousands of Wagner fighters occupied Rostov-on-Don, the Russian military headquarters responsible for directing Russia’s renewed illegal invasion of Ukraine.[1] Their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, then threatened to march on Moscow.[2] The group came within 200km of the capital before Prigozhin and his fighters abandoned the mutiny,[3] leaving significant questions over the future of the Wagner Group in Ukraine and abroad.
2. We began this inquiry in March 2022 to cast a light on what was (then) a shadowy and under-examined organisation. We aimed to expose the Wagner Group's modus operandi, its impact on UK interests and values, and how this impact was being addressed. This report draws on evidence gathered since that time to examine the nature and extent of the Wagner Group’s network and its expanding activities since 2014; the response of the UK Government; and how this response may affect what comes next. We used written and oral evidence;[4] commissioned open-source research;[5] reports from former members of the Wagner Network and drew on the many years’ investigative work of journalists and non-governmental organisations.[6] Due to the secrecy and uncertainty that surround the Group’s deployments, we make clear our level of confidence when commenting on its countries of operation. We thank all those who contributed to our inquiry, sometimes at risk to themselves.
3. The remainder of this report largely refers to the ‘Wagner Network’, rather than the Wagner Group. This describes more accurately what Prigozhin has been allowed to build: a sprawling, decentralised network of individuals and commercial entities, which is active in several countries and for which the ‘membership’ is not always clear. Exploiting this web of entities is central to the network’s modus operandi.[7] This network has benefited the personal financial interests of Prigozhin [8] and the interests of Russian political elites.[9] It
- ↑ Russian insurrection: Prigozhin’s failed mutiny and the fallout, Financial Times, 6 July 2023
- ↑ Yevgeny Prigozhin (also called Evgeny Prigozhin) is the self-professed founder of the Wagner Group, often referred to as ‘Putin’s chef’ for his catering contracts.
- ↑ Crisis Group, ‘Assessing the Wagner Group’s Aborted Run on Moscow: What Comes Next?’. 29 June 2023 (accessed 10 July 2023); see also Instability in Russia: Prigozhin’s armed rebellion, Research Briefing 9823, House of Commons Library, 27 June 2023
- ↑ We published 16 pieces of written evidence and received further confidential submissions. We held three public evidence sessions, taking oral evidence from nine witnesses: experts, representatives of Bellingcat, the Dossier Center and the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries; and the Government.
- ↑ The Committee commissioned small-scale open-source research into the Wagner Group’s network and operations, which was carried out by the not-for-profit Centre for Information Resilience (CIR). The results of this research are integrated into this report (with citation) and in particular inform Appendix 2, in which we name individuals and entities who are not sanctioned by the UK but who we have strong reason to believe are associated with the Wagner Network. CIR used open-source intelligence triangulated with information collected by investigators from closed sources, and previous (academic) research. No deception was involved in this research.
- ↑ This work is often highly dangerous. Three journalists in the Central African Republic doing relevant work were assassinated. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, founder of the Dossier Center, stated that “we demonstrated convincingly that people working for Mr Prigozhin participated in the murders”. Q96
- ↑ For example, the bank accounts of front/cover companies reportedly store the money for paying Wagner fighters. Anonymous (WGN0026)
- ↑ Verified by the CIR open-source research.
- ↑ Anonymous (WGN0026)
