Russia planning to deploy 1,000 Wagner mercenaries to eastern Ukraine, says UK's defence ministry
A private Russian military contractor that has been accused of human rights abuses has deployed to eastern Ukraine, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
The ministry says the Wagner Group is expected to bring up to 1,000 mercenaries to take part in combat operations in Ukraine after the regular Russian military experienced heavy losses.
Air Vice-Marshal Mick Smeath, Defence Attaché at the British Embassy in Washington, told reporters that Russia has likely been forced to reprioritise Wagner personnel for Ukraine at the expense of its operations in Africa and Syria.
Smeath’s statement comes after Pentagon officials said recently they expected Russia to look for ways to replace their combat losses with Russian troops based in other countries. Last Friday, the Pentagon said it appeared Moscow was drawing on Russian troops based in Georgia, but no details were available on their number or the timing of their expected deployment.
Thousands of mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been deployed in Syria since 2015. The US and EU consider the group to be a surrogate of the Russian military, but the Kremlin denies it even exists.
In December, the EU imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group and its founder, Dmitry Utkin, for fomenting violence and committing human rights abuses in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.
One of a number of private military groups from Russia, the Wagner Group emerged out of the conflict in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, when pro-Russian forces rose up against the Ukrainian government after the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The Wagner group has reportedly carried out clandestine combat missions on the Kremlin’s behalf in Ukraine and Syria, although Russian authorities deny Wagner contractors carry out
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