Topline
Russia has sent more than 1,000 mercenaries from the private military company known as the Wagner Group to fight in eastern Ukraine, according to British and U.S. officials—the latest maneuver in what many have deemed a shift in strategy from Russia as its soldiers continue to face unforeseen difficulties in its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, where … [+]
Key Facts
Russia is expected to deploy more than 1,000 mercenaries of the Wagner group, including senior leaders of the private defense group, to eastern Ukraine, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update Monday, echoing reports from unnamed U.S. and western officials who spoke to the New York Times in a story released Friday.
Russia has reprioritized the defense group — which is similar to defense contractors used by Western nations — by pulling personnel away from other assigned missions in Africa and Syria to focus on its war with Ukraine, according to the U.K. intelligence report.
Russia has tasked the Wagner Group with assisting Russian forces in taking the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which have been partly controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces since 2014, an unnamed U.S. official told the Times.
There were about 300 Wagner group soldiers in Ukraine ahead of the start of the invasion, according to the Times.
Key Background
Russia is now focused on claiming Donetsk and Luhansk, known collectively as the Donbas region, Russian army official Sergei Rudskoy said in a briefing in Moscow Friday. Rudskoy said Russia’s goal in its invasion of Ukraine had always been to “liberate” the region, and that it attacked other regions of Ukraine in order to “significantly decrease” Ukraine’s military capacities. The U.K. Ministry of Defense said Monday Russia’s deployment of more mercenaries to Ukraine was due to its “heavy losses and largely stalled invasion.” Up to 40,000 Russian troops have been either killed, injured or captured in Ukraine as of Wednesday, according to an unnamed North Atlantic Treaty Organization official who spoke with CNBC. CIA Director Bill Burns told lawmakers earlier this month that Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv within two days of invading, but forces have yet to seize the city more than a month later. Western intelligence has pointed to resilience and crafty execution from Ukrainian soldiers, as well as a lack of morale from Russian forces, as reasons for Russia’s inability to achieve a swift victory.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonbissada/2022/03/28/russia-sends-more-mercenaries-to-fight-in-ukraines-east-per-us-and-uk-officials/