Mercenaries from the Russian-backed Wagner Group, a private military company, have deployed to eastern Ukraine, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s private army is expected to deploy more than 1,000 mercenaries, including senior leaders of the company, into Ukraine to engage in combat operations.
“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 British Ministry of Defense said on Monday in an intelligence update.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 28 March 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/LGcaASzEkJ
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/qWJcREPqRN
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 28, 2022
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN on Monday that the Wagner Group mercenaries will possibly be used “to mop up Mariupol” and could also be used to assist Russian combat forces in Kharkiv.
RUSSIA REPORTEDLY USING ISIS-STYLE PICKUP TRUCKS IN UKRAINE
“These guys are really notorious,” Leighton said, noting that the private soldiers are “not really ones to follow the rules of war” and are “known for their brutality.”
On March 1, it was reported that 400 Wagner Group assassins were flown into Ukraine from Africa weeks before the invasion and offered “a handsome financial bonus” to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Wagner Group soldiers for hire were reportedly behind two thwarted assassination attempts and sustained casualties in Kyiv.
The eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where Wagner Group mercenaries may be deployed, has been pummeled by Russian forces. Trapped civilians in the city don’t have access to clean water, food, or electricity.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, has described the battle for Mariupol as “a block-by-block struggle with fierce Ukrainian resistance and limited Russian gains.”
