A new report says Wagner Group uses torture, sexual violence, and mass murder in its global operations
The Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy, has urged the Biden administration to consider designating Russia’s heavily armed private military contractor, the Wagner Group, as a foreign terrorist organization.
The consultancy’s 44-page report, “Wagner Group: The Evolution of a Private Army”, said the US government and its allies should consider designating Wagner as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The report suggests that this status is warranted because of Wagner’s destructive actions in conflict zones such as Ukraine, Syria, and sub-Saharan Africa, which have followed scorched earth policies. The consultancy emphasized that Wagner’s conduct in non-conflict zones should also be subject to international humanitarian law as a non-state armed group.
Americans Reveal Strongest Reason to Oppose Continued Aid to Ukraine: Survey
When questioned about the Biden administration imposing sanctions on Wagner and designating it as an FTO, the U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “As a general practice, we do not provide advance notice of potential sanctions measures.”
Founded in 2014 by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin (who recently fled to Belarus), the Wagner group maintained close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin before announcing plans to march on Moscow with 25,000 mercenaries. However, Prigogine halted the march to avoid potential bloodshed. The Wagner Group is estimated to have a total of 50,000 members.
Wagner’s report highlights the challenges posed by the use of force and the targeting of civilians that hinder the development of conflict prevention and mitigation strategies by international and regional actors. Rather than contributing to comprehensive peace processes, Wagner’s activities focused primarily on supporting specific parties involved in the conflicts. The group’s record of torture, sexual violence, and mass killings contradicts efforts to facilitate dialogue, mediate disputes, or promote comprehensive peace processes in state-to-state disputes.
Yevgeny Prigozhin says his troops have reached Rostov-on-Don following a call for armed rebellion
In Ukraine, the Wagner group was involved in a range of criminal activities, including murder, sabotage, rape, and extortion, as detailed in the Soufan report. They often use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for precision targeting and have been implicated in assassination attempts against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as planting explosives near a nuclear facility.
Despite their presence, the Wagner Group was not invulnerable. In 2018, during the Trump administration, US forces killed 200 to 300 Wagner mercenaries working under Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The confrontation is widely regarded as one of the most serious confrontations between the American military and Russian contract soldiers since the Cold War.
Soufan Center writes, “While Wagner has demonstrated some operational capabilities in specific domains, its impact should not be overstated. Its humiliating defeat by U.S. special forces in Syria, the countless lives it sacrificed as cannon fodder in Ukraine, and the group’s failure to quell an insurgency in Mozambique all attest to this.”
Colin P. Clark, one of the co-authors of the Soufan report, described Wagner as a multifunctional entity, saying, “In many respects, Wagner serves as a Swiss Army knife. The group has versatility and skill.”
Co-author Noureen Chaudhary Fink highlights the group’s brutality towards civilians and its support for repressive governments, which exacerbates and prolongs instability and insecurity, which initially prompted these governments to seek Wagner’s help.
While Yevgeny Prigogine’s fate remains uncertain in light of recent events, she emphasized that the group’s undeniable influence raises questions about who will take control of their global business enterprises and operations.
Former U.S. Rebecca Koffler, a Defense Intelligence Agency official, shared her perspective with Fox News Digital, saying the Wagner Group should not be considered a traditional private military company (PMC), but rather a wing of the Russian state. It was established specifically to conduct discreet operations on behalf of the Kremlin, which required plausible deniability. Wagner was recruited by the Russian government to conduct covert influence and destabilization operations around the world. Importantly, they operate outside the jurisdiction of Russian law, and the casualties caused by Wagner are not included in the official count of Russian military casualties.
Koffler strongly believes that the recent coup may have been premeditated, highlighting the close relationship between Putin and Wagner/Prigozine. She referred to Wagner as Putin’s personal hit squad, emphasizing the interdependence between Wagner/Prigozine and Putin.
While Kofler warned that her analysis of the false flag operation could be wrong, Prigogine warned that if he was truly unfit, he would face an untimely death in the next 2-3 months under mysterious circumstances. She claimed that Putin does not tolerate traitors and relentlessly pursues them wherever they are in the world. Posing as a Western-style PMC, Koffler suggested that Putin turn Wagner into another mercenary and replace Prigogine with someone.