UK claims Russia has deployed private military forces on front lines in Ukraine

The UK claimed on July 29 that a Russian private military company has likely been given responsibility for particular front-line areas in Ukraine. According to the latest intelligence report from the UK Ministry of Defence, Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group has likely been assigned responsibility for certain areas of the front line in war-torn eastern Ukraine, similar to legitimate army formations.

The ministry stated on July 29 in a routine intelligence report on Twitter that this is a substantial change from the group's prior employment since 2015, when it normally undertook tasks different from overt, large-scale regular Russian military activity. The UK ministry went on to say that the Russian government's long-standing policy of denying connections between PMCs and the Russian state was further undermined by this increased degree of integration between the secretive group and the Russian army.

UK MoD said, "Since March, Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group has operated in eastern Ukraine in coordination with the Russian military. Wagner has likely been allocated responsibility for specific sectors of the front line, in a similar manner to normal army units. This is a significant change from the previous employment of the group since 2015, when it typically undertook missions distinct from overt, large-scale regular Russian military activity."

The adjustment was attributed to Moscow's severe lack of combat soldiers, but according to British intelligence, it was unlikely that Wagner forces would be sufficient to significantly alter the course of the war. Analysts have seen that the Kremlin is depending more and more on Wagner to keep its presence in the portions of Ukraine it has conquered and to get those areas ready for annexation into Russia.

The Wagner Group

Wagner is directed by Dmitry Utkin, a veteran of the Chechen battles and former chief of Russia's foreign military intelligence organisation, according to US and European authorities. Despite the Kremlin's denial, its management and activities are said to be tightly linked with the Russian military and intelligence agencies.

In its assessment of the military organisation, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies stated, "Wagner Group now provides a range of services, including military and paramilitary capabilities, covert media, and political manipulations."

Wagner, the most well-known of several Russian private military organisations, was initially deployed to Ukraine in 2014, where it assisted in the seizure of the Crimean peninsula before relocating to Syria in 2015. It has now been revealed that it intervened in Libya, the Central African Republic, Mali, Mozambique, and Sudan, according to several media reports.

Image: AP