Sky News explains why we know about the Wagner Group and its activities in the Ukraine invasion.
Sorcha MacLeod, who heads the UN's working group on the use of mercenaries, told the Economist that from a legal perspective, Wagner does not exist.The group is believed to be funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close links to Vladimir Putin who is also alleged to run Russia's"troll farm", the Internet Research Agency.
The Russian armed forces reportedly provide the group with munitions and transport aircraft, and the head of Ukraine's security services has described it as a"private army of Putin". The Russian government denies any involvement with the group and insists it does not legally exist because private military contractors are not legal in Russia.Putin's War: The Battle For UkraineThe Wagner Group is said to be used by the Russian government in conflicts where plausible deniability is called for.
Private security companies and private military companies are essentially"freelance soldiers" who can be hired cheaply and are more efficient than a regular military force because a small number of them can be deployed for a targeted operation, according to CSIS.'Colossal destruction' - What happened on day 14?What is the Wagner Group doing in Ukraine?
More than 400 mercenaries belonging to the group were sent to Kyiv to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, according to a report in The Times.
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