The Russian-Ukrainian war has already issued an incontrovertible sentence, namely the protagonism of Wagner in military operations to the advantage of Moscow. The company headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, considered very close to Vladimir Putin, is however neither the first nor the only Private Military Company (PMC) to operate in the field on behalf of the Kremlin. Of course, the Pmc phenomenon is not a Russian prerogative, just remember the Blackwater company which operated on behalf of the United States in Iraq and beyond, but the creation of Pmcs by Russia has undergone rapid evolution, a real ahead after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. A phenomenon which, however, does not only concern the ongoing conflict. Starting from 2023, Russian PMCs (also called contractors or mercenaries) operate in at least 32 countries around the planet. We are trying to map out this reality destined to play an ever more marked role in Moscow’s geopolitical and military strategies, on the basis of indications gathered by La Stampa from open sources and confidential information.
The origins
The ideologist and inspirer of the creation of private armies in the Russian Federation was a retired officer of the South African army, Lieutenant Colonel Eben Barlow. In 2010 Barlow participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where, in the context of a closed-door meeting with senior representatives of the Ministry of Defence, he presented his theory on the principles underlying private armies and their logical application. The ex-military explains how private armies, which are not officially subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, can “easily” contribute to the achievement of military objectives. It is the genesis “of the strongest component of the hybrid penetration of the Russian Federation and of the destabilizing potential from a socio-political point of view”. Eben Barlow himself in an interview with “The Bell” already explained thirteen years ago how the private armies of the Russian Federation would have penetrated Africa. The origin of the PMCs, created by the Russian state industrial giants, dates back to long before the war in Ukraine. In 2008 “Redut-Antiterror” was born, and its use takes place in Georgia, Syria, Iraq, Somalia. In 2011 the acronym “ENOT” – “United People’s Communal Partnerships” appears – an organization that forged with the aim of educating young to patriotism, but which soon turns into a real PMC employed in Donbass, where – according to Ukrainian sources – “it is guilty of war crimes”.In 2019 it was dissolved.
The leap in quality
The point that marks the qualitative leap in the use of PMCs is in 2013. It is then that Wagner’s presence in Syria is registered, where the civil war turns into a sectarian war and therefore into a war on terrorism against Islamic State and Al Nusra. His appearance is preceded by the so-called Dmitry Utkin with the callsign “Wagner” – even his “Slav Corps” was distinguished by his presence in this country. This is the pioneering trace of PMCs actively present on the ground where evidence of crimes emerges. A 2017 video shows the mercenaries brutally torturing and killing a Syrian soldier, as well as the activism in Mali of Prigozhin’s men is certified. In 2014 Wagner was involved in the occupation of Crimea by Russia, but in the following years her activities were mainly concentrated in Africa, in Mali with the Latins of the French Barkane mission and in the Central African Republic which became the intelligence center of the Prigozhin group .
The turning point
However, the turning point for Russian PMCs occurs after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, particularly around July 2022, when a number of Russian state-owned companies decide to create private armies at their own expense, sometimes structured and labeled as security companies , or companies that officially provide for the protection of the interests of the same industrial giants. Among these, the energy giant Gazprom would also play a role, which in February 2023 created its own security company (headed by the acronym Redut) thanks to the green light from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The Russian media indicate the salary of an employee of the security company Gazprom at 7,400 euros, almost double that received by Wagner, a figure which represents a facilitation in the recruitment of personnel.
Recruitment in the PMCs also involved employees of the Makeyev State Missile Center, a Roscosmos facility. The security service of the center has invited employees to join the ranks of the Uran battalion which since October 2022 is reportedly trying to recruit around 400 employees of various enterprises owned by Roscosmos. The goal is to ensure adequate training for a possible use in combat operations.
At the end of March 2023, Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov registered a new Lukoil security company, which is officially tasked with helping to protect Russian oil facilities from drone attacks. The employees of this security company do not appear to be involved in military operations in Donbass or elsewhere, but according to military sources, “their training is such that they can think of a future employment in war scenarios”.
Superiority, risks and threats
Contrary to the Russian army, which shows limits in the Ukrainian conflict, the PMCs appear launched towards growth thanks to the financial incentives of the state giants, training personnel at the highest levels. The invasion of Ukraine has become a trigger for the creation of PMCs by Russian state-owned industries, and this is not only evidence of a progressive militarization of Russia on a non-traditional basis, but also of a progressive financing from part of these industrial institutions of the same war in Ukraine as well as in other regions of the world where these military realities can be employed more flexibly and effectively. PMCs, by their nature, are not subject to the laws of war, and the operational boundaries of their activities are blurred and difficult to trace clearly, sometimes constituting fertile ground for war crimes or acts of terrorism. The accusation made by Kiev and other intelligence agencies of the NATO bloc, as reported by La Stampa, is that the PMCs are being used by Russia as a new hybrid threat, “a direct attack against the West for pan-European destabilisation”. In particular, last February, the president of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani warned that Wagner could apply the “Crimean scenario” in Pristina, with “military without insignia” who could quickly destabilize the situation in the country in a pro- Serbian. In this sense, the reflection that emerges from Ukraine but not only is that the natural and legal persons who finance the creation, personnel and training of PMCs must be subjected to sanctions so as not to allow them to do business around for the planet.