While supply and morale problems and allegations of war crimes have been well documented among regular Russian troops, the existence of such crises among the notorious Wagnerian mercenaries portends a bad Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a CNN investigation.

Wagner’s forces have enjoyed worldwide fame for several years now. But as Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine crumbles and the announcement of a “partial draft” of much-needed conscripts prompts more than 200,000 Russian citizens to flee to neighboring countries, the first cracks have appeared in this supposed military elite. shock forces.

“I am convinced that if Russia had not used mercenary groups on such a massive scale, there would have been no chance of success where the Russian army has been victorious so far,” said Marat Gabidulin, a former Wagner commander who commanded 95 mercenaries in Syria. CNN.

Asked by former comrades now fighting in Ukraine, Gabidulin said Russia’s use of mercenaries has increased as the Kremlin wages the war in disarray.

Valuable impact force

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN that Wagner troops are being sent on “the most difficult and important missions” in Ukraine, having played a key role in Russia’s victories in Mariupol and Kherson.

“The Russian army will not cope with this. [τον πόλεμο] without mercenaries,” Gabidulin said, adding that “there is a very big myth about a strong Russian army.”

Today, at least 5,000 mercenaries linked to the Wagner Group operate alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s intelligence agency who monitors Wagner in Ukraine, told CNN. This figure was confirmed by a French intelligence source who noted that some Wagner fighters left the African continent to support the group’s efforts in Ukraine.

But things are not going so well on the ground: “Wagner has suffered heavy losses in Ukraine, especially among young and inexperienced fighters,” a senior US Department of Defense source said in September.

Mr. Yusov also said that Wagner is increasingly being used to patch up gaps on the Russian front line. This was also confirmed by a senior US Department of Defense official, who added that the Wagner is used on various front lines. This has led to serious logistical problems, he says, with the urgent need to supply Wagner troops with ammunition, food and support for sustained operations, while Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on the Russian administration.

Body camera footage allegedly worn by Wagner fighters in August was provided to CNN by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and shows mercenaries complaining about the lack of body armor and helmets. In another video, a fighter complains about the order to attack Ukrainian positions when his unit ran out of ammunition.

Wagner’s units were also exhausted by losses on the battlefield. In response, they turned to public … for the first time recruitment: billboards appeared in Russia asking for new leaders for Wagner. Their slogan, emblazoned with a phone number and a photo of camouflaged fighters—”Orchestra W is waiting for you”—refers to Wagner’s past as an “orchestra” and his mercenaries are nicknamed “musicians.”

Despair

September also saw the emergence of graphic material about the recruitment of volunteers in Russian prisons, with no military experience required. “This is an act of desperation,” Gabidulin commented on the recruitment of volunteers.

Wagner’s problems in Ukraine caused a wider problem there: discontent in its ranks. For a team that depends on the attractiveness of their wages and work, this is critical.

According to intercepted phone calls, Ukrainian intelligence agencies in August noted a “general decline in the moral and psychological state” of the Wagner troops, said Mr. Yusov, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence. He also observed this trend in the Russian army in a broader sense.

The reduction in Wagner’s recruitment requirements is also indicative of frustration, he said, and the number of “truly professional soldiers who are willing to volunteer to fight Wagner” is also declining.

Former commander Gabidulin, who says he speaks almost daily with his old comrades, explained that this frustration was due to their dissatisfaction with “the overall organization of the fighting: the inability [της ρωσικής ηγεσίας] make competent decisions, organize fights.

Source: CNN