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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMore Russian Mercenaries Deploying to Ukraine to Take On Greater Role in War
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/us/politics/russian-mercenaries-ukraine-wagner-group.htmlMore Russian Mercenaries Deploying to Ukraine to Take On Greater Role in War
At least 1,000 fighters from Russias Wagner Group are expected to focus on the Kremlins goal of seizing eastern Ukraine.
By Eric Schmitt
March 25, 2022
...
The number of mercenaries deployed to Ukraine from the Wagner Group, a private military force with ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, is expected to more than triple to at least 1,000 fighters from about 300 a month ago, just before the invasion, a United States official said on Friday. The official added that the mercenaries would focus on defeating Ukrainian forces in the countrys Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting a war since 2014, and elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.
Dispatching trusted Russian mercenaries to help with a pivotal part of the Russian invasion underscores the Kremlins efforts to regroup and refocus its flagging, monthlong military campaign that so far has failed to achieve Mr. Putins initial goals, U.S. and other Western officials said.
Wagner is relocating not only some of its mercenaries in Libya and Syria to Ukraine, but also artillery, air defenses and radar that the group was using in Libya, the official said. The Russian military is supporting these transfers by providing military cargo aircraft to relocate personnel and equipment.
While Wagners numbers are tiny compared with the more than 150,000 troops that Mr. Putin amassed on Ukraines borders and eventually sent into the country, their presence is an indication that Mr. Putin is taking a page from his playbook in 2014, when the Kremlin deployed Russian mercenaries, mostly veterans of the Russian military, to augment the forces of rebel fighters in eastern Ukraine.
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More Russian Mercenaries Deploying to Ukraine to Take On Greater Role in War (Original Post)
dalton99a
Mar 2022
OP
Led by Dmitry Utkin, a literal Nazi, though the Kremlin would probably describe him as Nazi-curious
Emrys
Mar 2022
#2
He's such a scumbag. I hope some Ukrainian babushka takes him out with a poison pie.
SunSeeker
Mar 2022
#3
rockfordfile
(8,695 posts)1. Russian terrorists
Emrys
(7,216 posts)2. Led by Dmitry Utkin, a literal Nazi, though the Kremlin would probably describe him as Nazi-curious
Link to tweet
Johan Norberg
@johanknorberg
When Putin wants to de-Nazify, he sends for Dmitry Utkin. In 2014, Utkin founded the mercenary Wagner Group, named after Hitlers favourite composer. Tatoos: Waffen-SS collar tabs & Nazi Parteiadler. Around 2016, Putin awarded Utkin the title "Hero of the Russian Federation".
@johanknorberg
When Putin wants to de-Nazify, he sends for Dmitry Utkin. In 2014, Utkin founded the mercenary Wagner Group, named after Hitlers favourite composer. Tatoos: Waffen-SS collar tabs & Nazi Parteiadler. Around 2016, Putin awarded Utkin the title "Hero of the Russian Federation".
More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Utkin
SunSeeker
(51,504 posts)3. He's such a scumbag. I hope some Ukrainian babushka takes him out with a poison pie.
Walleye
(30,935 posts)4. I hope he is paying them in rubles