Russia- Ukraine war: Inside Russian President's private militia, the Wagner Group

A stone's throw from a Russian army base in the southern city of Mol'kino, away from prying eyes, is a secretive training centre for a group of men the President denies even exists.

There, the Wagner Group refines its craft and waits to be called upon by Russia's top military brass for operations the Russian army does not want to be associated with.

These are highly efficient, specialised soldiers at the disposal of Vladimir Putin and they have just arrived in Ukraine.

Their motto: "Death is our business and business is good."

Russia has plausible deniability when it comes to Wagner's existence. They do not show up on company registration records and they do not file tax returns.

Members of The Wagner Group in Syria, where they fought on behalf of Russia. Photo / news.com.au / Supplied

But verified images from Ukraine posted last week show they are armed and involved in a conflict that has evolved from a "special military operation" into acts of violence carried out against unarmed civilians and children.

The pictures show the Wagner Group soldier outside the Park Inn hotel in Donetsk carrying an AK-15 assault rifle preferred by Russian special forces.

He has a patch on his right sleeve that carries the grinning skull insignia of the Wagner Group.

The UK's Ministry of Defence said in a tweet last week that "Russia's private military company the Wagner Group has been deployed to eastern Ukraine".

It continued: "They are expected to deploy more than 1000 mercenaries, including senior leaders of the organisation, to undertake combat operations."

Ukrainian soldiers approach a trench that had been used by Russian soldiers as they retake an area on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo / AP

The decision to send the Wagner Group in is important because these are no ordinary soldiers. They are suspected of abuses in Mali, Libya and Syria. It is also a sign that Russia is becoming increasingly desperate.

"Due to heavy losses and a largely stalled invasion, Russia has highly likely been forced to reprioritise Wagner personnel for Ukraine at the expense of operations in Africa and Syria," the UK defence ministry said.

'Ukraine is our brother'

While members of the Wagner Group are being ordered to carry out military operations against Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, one ex-member says the war is a mistake.

Speaking to The Guardian, former mercenary Marat Gabidullin said Russia denies the Wagner Group exists but it shouldn't.

"Mercenary groups are nothing to be ashamed of, they exist everywhere, but we lie about them," he said. "We have specialised skills that a normal army lacks."

On the mission in Ukraine, Gabidullin was blunt.

"I believe that war between Ukraine and Russia will be a complete disaster for Russia. Under no circumstances should this be allowed. Ukraine is our brother."

He is putting himself at risk for speaking out but he wants to shine a light on what the secret Russian outfit stands for.

Gabidullin has just finished his memoir, In the Same River Twice, but knows that talking about Wagner Group could get him killed.

The 55-year-old said the group is so secretive that family members are told to not discuss loved ones who joined and lost their lives.

Captured Russian soldiers answer media questions at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo / AP

"I thought to myself, 'Enough, it's time to get out of the shadows'," he said of writing about his experience.

"I will not be dissuaded from publishing again. Because it is not just about me."

Mercenaries lured to war zone with pork fat

The BBC reports that Russia is recruiting new members to fight in Ukraine alongside the army as mercenaries.

Their tactics are not exactly textbook.

A serving mercenary in Ukraine told the publication that members of the Wagner Group were contacted via encrypted messaging app Telegram several weeks before the war began and invited to a "picnic in Ukraine" where they could eat "salo", a pork fat made famous by Ukrainians.

The BBC reports that the message – an open invitation – was sent to "those with criminal records, debts, banned from mercenary groups or without an external passport" and "those from the Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk and Donetsk republics and Crimea".

The serving fighter said he was sent to the country's second city, Kharkiv, and was paid roughly $3200 for a month's work before returning to Russia.

The Wagner Group has been linked to one of Putin's closest allies, oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Russia has a longstanding relationship with private military companies and the Wagner Group is no different.

"The Kremlin has developed its own view of PMCs (private military companies)," the group wrote in 2020.

"Instead of approaching the question from the budgetary perspective – namely that PMCs are more flexible and cheaper than the regular military – Russia perceives them mainly as political-military tools of state influence."

There's another reason Putin doesn't mind using them – or calling them into wars where his military has already suffered huge numbers of casualties.

"It permits the Russian state to hide personnel losses from the Russian public," the group wrote.