For years, the Wagner private military company has done Moscow’s dirty work in eastern Ukraine, Libya, Syria and parts of Africa. The Kremlin always officially denied any relationship with Wagner, whose soldiers for hire have been accused of massacres and other human rights violations.
But now, Wagner and its mercenaries have suddenly emerged from the shadows in the Ukraine war, openly celebrated on Russian state media and lauded as heroes of President Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion. A recent special report on the most-watched state TV channel trumpeted the group’s gains on the Ukrainian front lines — an unthinkable acknowledgment of Wagner even just a few months ago.