What is the Wagner military company. Ghosts of war: how the Russian private army appeared in Syria

Among themselves, they call Syria a “sandbox.” Because it's sand. Lots of sand. And the heat is plus fifty. They know: if something happens, no one will save them. And their bones will forever rot under this sun that burns everything around, and the jackals will complete the rest. The contract states: non-return of cargo-200 home. Too expensive.

Instead of a ringtone, Sergei’s phone has a cheerful ringtone:

“Our armored personnel carrier is all dented, but it’s still on the move, beating the damned ISIS fighters, knocking the spirit out of the bastards. Beyond the plain there are mountains, across the mountains there is a pass, and behind it stands Palmyra, I have been watching it all my life...”

The ending is quite in the style of Shnur, so I won’t give it here.

Sergei is just over thirty, he is a former lawyer from Donetsk, but he has not worked in his specialty for four years because of the war. First, the one in Ukraine. Then here - in Syria. War without rules. So it is unlikely that he will need fancy legal terms: they will not save him in battle.

“The job is done, we only had a few hours to get ready, we helped break the shackles of the Syrian falcons. Let the tourists come - Damascus, Palmyra, it doesn’t matter. We have money, women and wine waiting for us at home” - the bad boys in the homemade songs of today’s “fortune hunters” strive to seem even worse than they are.

I ask Sergei to let me listen to other hits of this Syrian war - he sends me Viktor Tsoi’s “Cuckoo” re-sung through the messenger. The chorus is almost unchanged. “My palm turned into a fist...”

I can imagine what Sergei might look like in real life: short, wiry, in shabby green camouflage, with a non-healing callus on the index finger of his right hand - from the trigger. And there is also a bruise on my shoulder - from a machine gun. But there are no rewards for mercenaries.

They don't give us awards. The Cossacks have titles, orders, they love that. But they don’t know how to fight. The guys ask one newcomer: “Do you even understand where you ended up?” He looks like a fool: “What’s wrong - you saw the Islamists’ car and threw a grenade at it.” Damn, I saw the car - get away from it quickly. She's carrying a ton of explosives.

Jihad mobile?

There are two types. Jihad Mobile and Inghimasi are suicide squads that first fight like ordinary soldiers, and when they run out of ammunition, they activate the suicide belt. They explode, dying and taking everyone nearby with them. These are Hiroshima and Nagasaki, how much TNT is hung on them! Their task, these abnormal fanatics, is to die on the battlefield. This is what they come for.

Our purpose of the trip is to earn money. No patriotism. True, the Cossacks come up with some beautiful fairy tales for themselves - for example, that they are going to study Orthodoxy in extreme conditions, while Syria is the cradle of Christianity, but this is also an excuse. Mostly people come to earn money. It’s just that not everyone admits this openly and honestly. This is fine. We also went to earn money, not to kill. We, as recruiters, were told: you will protect communications, checkpoints, oil rigs, restore factories, and when you arrive at the site - both of you! - and to the assault battalion.

Have you signed a contract?

If you can call it that. Let's put it this way: I signed an agreement. There is a list of what we must do, there are responsibilities, but no rights. If you violate some clause, for example, drink on the front line, then you get money. The entire unit is fined. Although they drink little - in this heat. But vodka in Syria is good.

Where do recruiters find their potential “clients”?

Recruiters have been working in Donbass since '14. But in the first years few people left. Firstly, no one knew about Syria, and secondly, in the DPR they fought for an idea, for the salvation of the Russian world. This was then vulgarized by everyone. Now it’s unclear whether it’s peace or war. Many Russian volunteers returned home. The militia also dispersed. And what we can do is nothing but fight. If you serve in Donetsk now, you receive 15 thousand rubles. Here they offered me 150 thousand a month, plus combat pay, plus exit fees, and so on. I have a wife on maternity leave, two aged children, a son and a daughter, and my parents are old. I won’t earn that much in a year. Even if you imagine that they will cheat and pay less, it is still better than nothing.

Do they cheat often?

- Who will behave how? In general, there are two large private military companies on the market today - PMC “Wagner” of Dmitry Utkin and PMC “Turan”, a Muslim battalion. The very first was the “Slavic Corps”, but now it no longer exists. There are also subcontractors and intermediaries who also recruit people. They have nothing to do with official Russian military structures. How legal they are is also none of my business; In my opinion, they are registered through left-wing states, where they are registered and licensed - in South Africa, for example. I know that there were organizations that offered 240 thousand rubles a month, but in reality everyone gets about the same amount - 150.

I won’t say that they cheated anyone so badly: we have word of mouth, if they cheat today, no one will go tomorrow. We all revolve around the same people in this circle; everyone, in principle, knows everyone. When I was in the camp where I was being trained, they paid an additional 2–3 thousand daily allowances; in a month you can also raise a few bucks.

And not go anywhere at all?

Personally, I didn’t know anyone like that. But the preparation is so-so, to be honest. A shooting range, a training ground, a training and material part... Among other things, they talk about the traditions of the Syrian people, such as so as not to accidentally break them... Personally, I was helped by the knowledge of how to survive in the desert: there are a lot of all sorts of creeping reptiles there, so you take four pegs, you drive them into the sand, tie them with a square of woolen thread - not a single scorpion will crawl through this woolen thread. They feel them and are afraid for some reason.

How did you get to Syria - on a military plane? Civilian?

Charter. To Latakia. We had a legend that we were peaceful builders or something. There’s the sea, it’s warm, it’s nice, but they didn’t let us go for walks separately. Although many people ran out to swim a couple of times.

Did you disobey orders?

But what kind of order is there... You still don’t really understand who, for the most part, is going there. The Ministry of Defense will not sign a contract with a person with a tarnished biography. And we had people who had previously been convicted, and those who had not found work at home, were hanging around without money, former volunteers who came to military training in Rostov, militias, even ethnic Ukrainians, including those who fought against Donbass. Sometimes you see such a person in front of you and you just go crazy.

Nothing sacred?..

Not at all. Everything is fine. It's amazing how life can turn out. When the very first fighters were sent there, there was a strict selection, they say, even a competition. Now they are taking everyone. Personally, I saw an amputee, a man without an arm, he is a machine gunner by profession. How can he shoot?.. It seems to me that lately recruiters have been paying for the quantity recruited, and not for the quality. That's why there are so many stupid losses.

Those Cossacks whom ISIS executed were from the May group. 150 people arrived then - in the first battle they received 19 “cargo-200”... It’s just that the numbers are hidden, a minimum of information leaks to the media about what is happening. Those who arrived last had such preparation that it was immediately clear: suicide bombers had arrived.

How much do relatives of the dead and wounded get paid? Is this in the contract?

Three million for the dead, 900 thousand for the injury. But in reality, we have such insurance that if you are wounded and you are not wearing a bulletproof vest or a helmet, they may not pay anything. And the armored vehicle with equipment weighs 18 kg. Who would carry him around in such heat?! They are also fined for this. But the relatives of the two whose heads were cut off will definitely receive all the required payments, because the press made a fuss.

They're heroes! They didn’t swear allegiance to ISIS (banned in Russia – E.K.)…

Don't make me swear. They were faint-hearted. Because normal boys would not have surrendered alive.

What a nightmare - with this cutting off heads!

Ours are also cut off. What if you drag everything you kill through the desert on your own? At first they paid 5,000 rubles for one head of an ISIS fighter. The guys dragged a whole bunch of them... Therefore, they lowered the price - we need to stop creating a nightmare for the local population - recently they paid like a thousand each. I’m definitely not interested, because I don’t do this myself.

And these were definitely Islamist fanatics, and not civilians?

I'm telling you, exactly. Syria is now divided into zones. Pink - Damascus, Latakia and surrounding areas. You can't touch anyone there. There is also a gray zone - back and forth, and the most terrible - black, where we stand. There are no peaceful people there. All enemies.

I don’t understand why it’s impossible to carry out airstrikes against these countless ISIS villages without using infantry, since there are such crazy human losses?

This is just very clear. Using infantry, soldiers, is much cheaper than using aviation. It's always been that way. Soldiers are meat.

In ancient times, the armies of all countries had rules: for the first three days, a city captured by troops is given over to the victors. Is there such a thing now?

I guess, yes. Everything you find in the liberated villages is yours. Only money is required. These fanatics have their own - gold dinars, silver dirhams, copper fals... Although they are made of pure gold, you cannot take them with you. They bear the symbols of ISIS - “Islamic State” (banned in Russia), their storage and distribution is equated to a criminal offense and support of terrorism. Who needs such a headache?..

And what after the fight? How do you relax? You are not an official army, which means you are not entitled to concerts of famous touring performers from Moscow?..

Yes, it can be boring. But you can buy a wife. A virgin from a good family costs 100 bucks. For a year. Kind of like kalyma. If you take it forever, it’s 1500–2000 dollars. It's easier to buy there than to search here. I know guys who straightened out documents for such brides and then took them with them to Russia. In general, women help a lot in war - at least by brightening up our life. But basically only officers can afford them.

Are they fed well?

They feed you like they're being slaughtered. But there is tension with water. There is technical and drinking water. But you can’t drink technical stuff. And there is not enough drinking water.

How about weapons?

That's the problem with weapons. The equipment is old, worn out, shaggy... They also issue Chinese machine guns. It is clear that people chip in and buy weapons themselves - they want to live, and since they don’t have much cash, many spend so-called cigarette money on this: about 100–200 dollars a month.

Are salaries transferred to the card?

As you wish. Usually on a card to your wife or someone you tell, yes.

After death, are relatives also subject to a non-disclosure agreement?

In fact yes. They are warned that it is better not to exaggerate this topic if they want to be paid for everything. In the end, the man went there voluntarily, no one forced him. It is clear that no one will drag his corpse back to his homeland, because it is expensive, and there is no particular point. But the three million that would be given for a murdered person will only be earned by a living person in two years...

Do you consider yourself a mercenary?

No. I was put in such conditions. In the Donbass, in service from the very beginning of hostilities and almost until the very end. I had beliefs. And I personally know those who would never agree to die for money - only for the Motherland and the idea. But gradually there was nothing left of the ideas, and the war turned into business as usual. Ordinary people also have to adapt. But I didn’t betray myself.

And who was betrayed?

There was a case. Our guys caught fire alive. It happened. And they burned for a long time. It was scary to watch them suffer. It was necessary to shoot them, and it would have been merciful, but I couldn’t... Probably, this can be considered a betrayal.

Do you believe in God?

- Don't know. I guess I believe in something. For good, for bad. Don't know. I only know that killing is wrong. And I do not like it.

Simple accounting

One of the leaders of a private military company gave us a comment on condition of anonymity.

“I believe that in essence there is no criminal offense here. Yes, all PMC participants have an article hanging over them - participation in illegal armed groups, or even leadership of an illegal armed group, up to 20 years in prison, but let's think about the fact that now a new type of war is being waged all over the world. Let us recall the experience of the same Americans; all their operations in Iraq or Afghanistan are mainly carried out by PMCs. The French Foreign Legion is generally supported by the government. So it’s stupid to pretend to be naive young ladies and say that we shouldn’t have this because it’s bad.

This is business. We won’t take over the market; others will take our place. But for now, Russian PMCs are beginning to gradually squeeze out Western ones: because ours are undemanding and take on everything, yes, they can be deceived. But deception is also a life experience.

According to the rates, we get about 5 thousand dollars per person per month. According to the contract, you pay 2000 plus 500 for related expenses. What remains is the net profit - 2500, multiplied by the number of fighters.

In the spring of 2014, fighters of the Wagner PMC, the portal notes, were spotted in Crimea, then in the Donbass. They are allegedly stationed in the village of Molkino, Krasnodar Territory, where the 10th separate special forces brigade of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense is also stationed.

The PMC is headed by Dmitry Utkin; "Wagner" is his call sign. The second person in the “Wagner group” is allegedly Andrei Troshev, who is also called the chairman of the “League of Veterans of Military Conflicts”. It is known that he previously served in the Airborne Forces and participated in combat operations in Afghanistan and Chechnya. After leaving the army, he served in the riot police and special forces. Awarded two Orders of the Red Star and two Orders of Courage."

It is known about “Slavonic Corps Limited” that this PMC was registered in 2013 in Hong Kong. TO The company published advertisements for the hiring of contract workers to protect pipelines and industrial facilities in Syria, offering a salary of $5,000.The announcements attracted the attention of former professional soldiers from the CIS countries, many of whom fought in the conflicts along the southern “arc” of the collapsed USSR back in the early 1990s.

The “Slavic Corps” arrived in Syria back in 2013 - even before the start of the Ukrainian Maidan. By that time, according to some sources, it numbered just over 250 people. The corps guarded oil fields in the same ill-fated province of Deir ez-Zor. The contract soldiers received heavy weapons from the Syrian government. However, after arriving in Russia, the members of the “Slavic Corps” were arrested. In October 2014, the court sentenced the company's leaders, Vadim Gusev and Evgeniy Sidorov, to three years in prison each.

“These Russians have long chosen their own path, not coordinated with the state,” said its editor-in-chief Alexey Venediktov on the Ekho Moskvy radio station. “Back in 2013, even before Syria and before Ukraine, there was a Russian private military company that was registered in Hong Kong – a Russian company in Hong Kong called “Slavic Corps”. It was headed by former intelligence officers who hired people - well, for what? - security, sabotage - all over the planet. In particular, this “Slavic Corps”, as far as I know, worked for the President of South Sudan ( in fact, most likely Sudan,- editor's note.), which is currently under sanctions...

In 2013, the “Slavic Corps” was thrown back - in the same oil fields, this very Deir er-Zor, there were six wounded soldiers, all were evacuated to Moscow. At the same time, as far as I know, an ordinary fighter - maybe not an ordinary one, there was just Dmitry Utkin, who later became known as “Wagner”. That is, his battles in Syria began before Putin announced us in Syria - as part of a PMC, purely to make money. The head of this operation, Vladimir Gusev and Evgeny Sidorov, upon arrival in Russia, at Domodedovo, were arrested by the FSB...

Then the Russian state realized the benefits of these guys... They fought in Donbass with the support of the state, no FSB arrested anyone there, then in Syria. Moreover, they consisted and consist not only of Russian citizens - our colleagues from Fontanka write about this in detail, and I recommend everyone to read their investigations, but a significant number of fighters there are residents of Donetsk and Lugansk who joined...

These people then come here with weapons and have nothing to do, roughly speaking. And they become dangerous, in fact, for order in Russia. In Russia, after all, the right to violence belongs to the state... Where to put these people?.. During the Hundred Years' War in France, a huge number of detachments of marauders were formed who did not care - the British, the French, the Normans, the Spaniards. And then King Charles the Fifth ordered his best commander to hire them, gather them and take them to Spain. Where they all died...

The Estonian website err.ee wrote about the service of Wagner fighters back in 2016: " Oleg served in Syria in a military unit that did not officially exist on paper, but which was known as the “Wagner Group” or “musicians”, fought on the side of the Syrian pro-government forces and was formed from experienced fighters by order of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Oleg took part in the battles for the liberation of Palmyra. His salary was 4,500 euros per month plus bonuses...

Officially, the Russian contingent does not include fighters who do “dirty work” - people from the “Wagner Group”. Such a unit or private military company does not formally exist. But this is on paper. In reality, the Russians managed to fight in different parts of Syria. When asked why Oleg went to Syria, he replies: “I was a hired worker, and I don’t care about this war at all. I like this job, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t work there...

The Wagner Group is not an ordinary private military company. This is a miniature army. “We had a full set: mortars, howitzers, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers,” explains Oleg...

The Wagner Group arrived in Syria by plane. And these were not Aeroflot airliners, Oleg says, smiling. The fighters were transported on transport aircraft of the 76th Airborne Division, which is stationed in the Pskov region... Equipment, including artillery and tanks, was transported by sea using the so-called "Syrian Express" - on Russian Navy ships from Novorossiysk to Tartus...

As a rule, Wagner's men are experienced fighters who have gone through several conflicts. And although you won’t see recruitment advertisements in newspapers, the group did not experience problems recruiting specialists.

Oleg admits that he didn’t go to Wagner the first time - he didn’t trust: “Practically, they get in by acquaintance and that’s all. As such, there is no free recruitment. When recruiting, they carry out a couple of tests: for alcohol and drug use. Then there are physical tests. In fact, there are no exams ".

Among the Wagnerites there are many who fought in the Donbass on the side of the separatists. They undergo additional polygraph testing. They may even ask if they are FSB agents - intelligence agencies are not welcome in Wagner. The group has its own security department that combats information leaks. Finding photographs of Russian condottieri on the Internet is a great success. This is an offense that entails serious sanctions for the offenders...

A unique insurance system: about 300,000 rubles for an injury and coverage of treatment costs in high-quality clinics. For death - five million rubles to the family. Although from a legal point of view the contract with the Wagner group is an insignificant piece of paper, Oleg confirms: they paid everything to the last penny and even more. But there is no talk of complete safety.

That is, do you have at least some kind of protection?

From what?

From the state.

From the state, I think not."

“The contract period is from three to six months,” reports the website onpress.info. The contract is signed at the PMC base in Molkino. The future fighter reads the multi-page document, signs, and it remains in the company’s office. It is strictly forbidden to communicate with representatives of the media, therefore in this collective interview they appear as Sergei Ts., Gennady F. and Stepan M...

There was a medical examination, but the selection was more visual: arms and legs in place - and forward, says Sergei. – They took everyone, because the PMC suffered heavy losses in Syria. They also had to run 3 km and do 40–50 push-ups (this was rated as “good” and “excellent”). Many did not pass these standards, but were enrolled. A lie detector was considered a much more serious test. Every candidate takes a polygraph. For example, out of eight people in the group in which Gennady was, only two successfully passed the lie detector, including himself. Gennady still has no idea what the others were using, what kind of lies the PMC psychologists were looking for. But, in his opinion, this selection certainly did not concern the criminal background of the candidates...

We departed from Rostov-on-Don International Airport on April 25, 2017, on a regular charter flight. They did not put a visa in the passport; the border guards only stamped the departure note (and upon return, another arrival note). The Syrian Border Service does not appear in the documents at all. In total, one and a half hundred PMC fighters flew in the Boeing; a day or two later, the second half of the “brigade” arrived in the same way.

We flew to Damascus in civilian clothes and changed clothes at the Syrian base, that is, in the middle of the desert. They took military uniforms with them, and everyone dressed according to their own taste. The desert uniform of the British SAS special forces is considered the most comfortable, the best in strength and color, followed by the uniform of the American special forces. So, in appearance, the Russian fighters were no different from a detachment of Anglo-Saxon special forces. The Syrian uniform, according to the unanimous opinion of the interlocutors, is of very poor quality...

The brigades are commanded by retired special forces officers (not a single career officer); there are practically no army officers. “For example, the Syrian commander turned to the commander of our brigade,” says Gennady, “and offered several tanks for nothing, since the Arabs did not have crews for them...

Over the six months of the mission, the casualties of one brigade amounted to about 40 dead (“two hundredths”) and about 100 wounded (“three hundredths”). The other brigade was more “lucky”: their losses amounted to about 20 killed and 70 wounded. And in the third brigade, in the first two weeks alone, they lost about 50 killed. Most died during the lifting of the blockade of Deir ez-Zor. Thus, a tenth of the personnel died, a fifth were wounded...

“The losses would have been much less,” says Sergei, “if the supply of the PMC group had not been so bad, simply bad.” Broken armored cars, five trucks lost in three days, there was nothing even to transport personnel. And the losses from this are high... and that’s it - they stopped! Collapse. No one is going anywhere, God forbid the wounded are taken out. And experience says that it is high time to transfer soldiers to armored vehicles designed for no more than 10 people. Although a year ago the equipment was decent - both weapons and equipment.

“This is just a beautiful television picture: tanks are moving across the desert in a row, followed by infantry fighting vehicles, and helicopters circling above them,” says Stepan. – In fact, there was very little equipment. Our “armada” moved partly on foot, and partly on KamAZ and Urals vehicles. If an ATGM hits a truck, then the losses are, of course, huge...

“Despite the fact that many PMC soldiers served in the army and special forces, I will not be mistaken if I say that 90% do not understand where they are going,” says Sergei. – The desire to earn money completely blows your brain away. Therefore, having found themselves in a real mess, they declare that they came here not to die, but to earn money. These are called “five hundredths,” that is, deserters and refuseniks. They are immediately sent to rigging teams, that is, shell loaders, etc.

“And in life, those who came to Syria are mostly losers,” says Gennady. – As a rule, former cops, prisoners and military personnel. About 40% of the personnel served time for serious crimes - murders, robberies, etc. PMC fighters even greet each other like this: “Hello, losers!” It is noticeable that for many months before the business trip, and even years, they drank without drying out. In Syria it is forbidden to drink, their heads lighten up a little, and they make a vow to quit for the rest of their lives. They return to Russia with a million in their pocket and go into such a dive, a month later they crawl back to the base without pants...

“I have an ambivalent attitude towards these private military companies,” Stepan adds. – On the one hand, they deceive, and it’s insulting. On the other hand, if you look at the situation from the outside, PMCs are removing unnecessary elements from civilian life (this is literally what the fighter said about his comrades, and therefore about himself. - A.Ch.)."

However, not all unflattering reviews about Wagner's fighters are truthful. Among them there are many convinced fighters against the “world behind the scenes”, international terrorism, from which they are. protect Russia on distant approaches.

A personal number instead of a passport, a ban on mobile communications and the Internet, and an obligation to remain silent for 10 years are the conditions of employment in the private military company Wagner. Fontanka has familiarized itself with the PMC’s instructions for Syria.

The Mi-8 AMTSH helicopter is easily identified; thanks to its individual camouflage coloring, it is not difficult to recognize it. In the fall of 2015, he was already captured by cameras at the Russian Aerospace Forces base near Latakia.

For the first time, an interesting photo allegedly appeared on Twitter from a user with the nickname “Order and Babai” @Fpaidinful on October 17, 2015 with the caption “RF Armed Forces and SAA Tigers, Syria.” To a question from a Fontanka correspondent, “Order and Babai” replied that he took the picture “from one of the Arab bloggers.”

It’s interesting that the careless photo did not last long on the Anna News website and was promptly deleted.

screenshot of the AnnaNews agency website

Click to view in full size

P.S.. According to the editors, to date, the losses of Wagner PMC in the Syrian conflict amount to about 10 people killed.

© Oksana Viktorova/Collage/Ridus

Disputes about it are still raging. The citizens of the Russian Federation who died there were not in official service in the Russian army - they worked in, in fact, they were mercenaries. Many of them fought in Donbass before joining PMCs and being sent to Syria. The Reedus correspondent managed to talk to one of these “soldiers of fortune,” who had already returned to peaceful life. At the request of the interlocutor, we cannot disclose his name.

How could you prove your participation in the fighting in Syria?

How could I prove it? It’s as simple as saying the badge number, but then they’ll immediately understand who has opened up. I could name the names of my colleagues, but then it would be easier to introduce myself... It turns out that it’s up to you to believe me or not.

Okay, how did you get into Wagner PMC?

Friends called, signed a contract and went. I had combat experience at that time, from Donbass.

What exactly was stated in the contract?

The contract is concluded with the company EuroPolis. It is also unofficially “Wagner PMC”. A non-disclosure document is signed for a period of 5 years. According to this document, you are prohibited from saying anything about the company and its connection with Wagner.

At the same time, the third clause of the contract is very interesting. It states that we are flying there not as military personnel, but as civilian personnel. That is, oil workers, builders, consultants on the restoration of the SAR infrastructure.

The next item is the next of kin. They are contacted in the event of the death of a soldier. They are also paid compensation for the deceased. In a security company, compensation is up to 3 million rubles, in assault detachments -.

Then - a clause on the voluntary renunciation of state awards: medals, orders and crosses. (Our interlocutor could not answer the question why this was necessary, but experts made it clear that such a refusal is signed so that there is no material evidence in the event of capture or death with the loss of a body. - Note by “Reedus.”)

The last clause of the agreement is the most interesting. The company promises that it will make every effort to return the body to its homeland. But it does not guarantee one hundred percent that this will be done.

Here are the main points, in a nutshell. I won’t show you the contract itself; it’s impossible to photograph it - the Security Service checks the phones at the exit.

What sanctions were provided for violation of the terms of the contract? For example, for disclosure?

Sanctions were not specified in the agreement, so I cannot say what kind of punishment we are talking about.

But you understand that you are violating the terms of the contract? Why are you telling us this?

I think people should know the truth.

What is Molkino?

Are there any strict requirements for selecting people?

Now the recruitment conditions have been softened. When I quit, a huge crowd gathered around me - about sixty people. At first, of course, they tried to hire people with experience, but the increase in losses forced us to soften the selection and row everyone. And, in fact, this affected the quality of replenishment.

A vicious circle results: an increase in losses, a recruitment of less combat-ready reinforcements, hence an increase in losses again... Is the percentage of deaths in general high?

Regarding losses - In our country, almost every third fighter was “200” (killed) or “300” (wounded). All because of constant attacks in the forehead.

Were you forced to go to the front?

Yes exactly. This is Wagner's favorite tactic.

And, of course, there were many losses due to our own stupidity. The “spirits” (fighters of terrorist formations. - Reedus’ note) mined everything, everything in general, from the word “absolutely.” Well, ours were often blown up by booby traps. Mined objects were picked up and again blown up.

The “spirits” also left behind cartridges filled with plastid or TNT. As a result, when firing, the machine gun exploded in his hands...

What combat missions did you perform?

Yes, they just walked forward. Head-on, as I said.

Were you given any preparation before this?

Yes, there was preparation, at the base in Molkino. A month and a half. It all came down to sapper work, tactics, military field medicine and control shooting.

Can you tell us about a memorable fight?

Yes... We then stormed a small mountain range near Deir ez-Zour, after breaking the defense line of which the road to the Euphrates and a small town on the right flank of Deir ez-Zour opened... I don’t remember the name, but the place itself is still before my eyes .

We set out on several Urals. After five kilometers they were forced to disembark from the vehicles and form marching columns. After another three kilometers of marching on foot, we came into fire contact, the heavy squad turned around and began to work.

Soon there was a loud bang - as it later turned out, we were the ones who burned the T-62 tank. Well... that's all. There was nothing particularly heroic there. We took that ridge...

Tell me one more thing. What is your motivation to fight there? For money, for Russia or something else?

If in Donbass they fought for an idea, then everything there comes down to money and there is no idea of ​​any kind. At least for me it is.

Are there many people there who fought in Donbass? Why did they then go to fight in Syria?

Yes, I had a lot of guys with me who went from Donbass straight to Syria. No matter who I talked to, everyone said the same thing: there is no full-scale combat in the Donbass, but in Syria the war is in full swing and money is being paid.

It's hard to fight when there is neither war nor peace. I'm talking about Donbass. Well, people are leaving from there for Syria.

We worked there almost every day. The respite was short - to replenish the ammunition, rest a little, no more than two or three days...

Everything is fine. There’s just one thing: the chance of returning from there alive was 30-40 percent..

Did you observe this yourself, the death of the children? Have many of your comrades died in your unit?

Yes. A lot of good guys died. The count goes into dozens, if we talk about those whom I knew personally. Recently, two very close friends ended up in the fifth squad as a result of a recent disaster and literally complete destruction of the fifth squad.

Please tell us about the destruction of the fifth squad. How many people actually died there, what did your friends tell you about it?

I don’t undertake to give specific numbers about the destruction of the fifth detachment, because I was not there. One of my friends is fighting there now, and, according to his wife, he is alive. When he arrives, then he will shed light on the truth.

But I think that the sources that we now have in the persons of Igor Strelkov and Mikhail Polynkov can be trusted, since Strelkov himself has many associates who served and are serving in Wagner.

But if there is such a catastrophe, then why are there not a single photo, not a single video?

Yes, because there is nothing to shoot with! I don't have a single photo from there either. They did not take their phones with them; they were confiscated before departure.

Okay, let them confiscate it, you already talked about the control of the Security Service. But then, where are photographs of “Wagnerites” from Syria found in the media and on social networks?

Some were more cunning and purchased them on the spot.

It's clear. What are your plans for the future? Are you not going to return to fight in Donbass?

Yes. It's addictive. If the massacre begins, I will return.

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Dozens of mercenaries from a Russian private military company. There is no official data about this, as well as about the number of dead and wounded: the figures cited in the media vary from “dozens of dead” to 200 people. If so, then these are Russia’s largest one-time losses during the Syrian campaign. Who carried them?

What is Wagner PMC

For the first time, Fontanka wrote about Wagner’s private military company (PMC) and its participation in the Syrian war in October 2015. According to the publication’s sources, in 2013, Russian managers of the private military company Moran Security Group, Vadim Gusev and Evgeny Sidorov, formed a detachment of 267 “contractors” to “protect fields and oil pipelines” in warring Syria. The detachment was named “Slavic Corps”. Its participants subsequently formed the “Wagner Group,” which, according to the publication, took part in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine on the side of the LPR and DPR and participated in the disarmament of Ukrainian military bases in Crimea. Investigations by several media reported that the training of fighters of this PMC takes place in Krasnodar, at the Molkino training ground - this camp began functioning around mid-2015.

At the end of 2015, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote about the participation of the “Wagner Group” in battles on the side of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, also citing sources. In the same article, WSJ journalists reported on the death of nine people from the Wagner Group in Syria.

In 2016, there were from 1 thousand to 1.6 thousand PMC employees in Syria at the same time, depending on the tension of the situation, RBC magazine wrote, citing a source familiar with the course of the operation.

Who runs the PMC

The founder of the “Wagner group,” as various media outlets wrote, is Dmitry Utkin with the call sign “Wagner.” A reserve officer, until 2013 he commanded the 700th separate special forces detachment of the 2nd separate brigade of the Special Forces of the GRU of the Ministry of Defense. After being transferred to the reserve, he worked at the Moran Security Group and participated in the Syrian expedition of the “Slavic Corps” in 2013. Since 2014, Utkin has been the commander of his own unit, which, based on his call sign, received the code name “Wagner PMC.” Since the fall of 2015, its activities have been transferred to Syria. There, as RBC magazine wrote, the “Wagner group” was secretly supervised by the GRU (now called the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation).

What are Russia's losses in Syria?

In December, during a surprise visit to the Khmeimim base, Vladimir Putin solemnly announced the beginning of the withdrawal of Russian wars from Syria. By that time, there were official losses of the Russian army in Syria. But, according to Reuters, in just 9 months of 2017, at least 131 people died in Syria (officially - 16 people).

Where did this figure come from? Reuters obtained a certificate of death of Russian citizen Sergei Poddubny, issued by the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Syria on October 4. The certificate number is 131. The numbering of such certificates is updated annually, the consulate told the agency. This means that the number of each certificate corresponds to the number of deaths registered by the consulate up to that point since the beginning of the year. The consulate also stated that it does not register deaths of military personnel. The members of the “Wagner Group” are not military personnel. The Ministry of Defense never comments on her losses.

Are PMCs legal in Russia?

Mercenary activity is prohibited in Russia; military personnel can only work for the state. For participation in armed conflicts on the territory of another country, the Criminal Code provides for up to seven years in prison (Article 359), for recruiting, training and financing a mercenary - up to 15 years.

But they have been trying to legitimize the activities of PMCs in Russia for many years. The latest initiative is quite recent - in mid-January, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation, Mikhail Emelyanov, said that the bill on PMCs would be submitted to the lower house within a month. A little earlier, the creation of a legislative framework to protect the interests of Russian mercenaries was supported by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

It is assumed that the law will allow PMC fighters to be involved in participation in counter-terrorism operations abroad, as well as in the protection of various objects such as oil and gas fields. PMCs will be prohibited from developing, purchasing or storing weapons of mass destruction. But the law was going to provide social guarantees for Russians who work for PMCs - now they officially do not have any rights and benefits provided for contract workers.

Anastasia Yakoreva, Svetlana Reiter