“It is necessary to enact a law regarding these companies, and this is what is being worked on, and it is too early to talk about the future of Wagner,” Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Defense Committee in the Russian Duma, told the Russian “Novosti” agency, regarding regulating the activities of private military companies.
The rebellion attempt carried out by the Wagner Group in Russia, on Saturday, represented a warning about the role of military companies and their danger if they disobey the orders of the official authorities, and also sheds light on the map of foreign companies and their role in the Ukraine war.
Under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Wagner fighters returned to their bases late Saturday night in return for guarantees of their safety, while their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin would move to Belarus, ending a short-lived insurgency.
Regarding the role of security companies, headed by Wagner, Russian experts told Sky News Arabia that the military companies have become “armies on demand, to which some countries resort to avoid the political cost if their regular soldiers are killed during battles, and they also carry out secret operations.”
In the Ukrainian conflict, the names of several security companies emerged. On the Russian side, the most famous of them were “Wagner” and “Vostek”. On the Ukrainian side, there is the “Azov” battalion and the “International Corps”, which recruited mercenaries from all countries of the world.
What is the map of these companies around the world?
According to military websites and a previous report by the Wall Street Journal, the most famous of these paramilitary companies around the world are:
- Wagner: Its roots go back to the Orel anti-terrorism company, and it was founded in Orwell in 2003 by retired members of the Russian Special Forces.
- The Ukrainian “Azov” battalion: It was founded in 2014 by activists from the extreme right, and it started its activities since the beginning of the war.
- American Water: changed its name after violations in Iraq to “Academic”, and has an army of 20,000 personnel, training bases and aircraft.
- “British G4S: It is one of the largest multinational security services companies, with 625,000 employees and security contractors operating in 125 countries.
- British “Irinis”: operates in Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq, and has received 282 sites from the US Army in Iraq, and has 16,000 contractors.
- The American “DynCorp”: It has 10 thousand fighters, and it replaced the American forces in Iraq.
- The American “Triple Canopy”: It has 3 thousand members, most of whom are from Peru and Uganda, and it got a contract worth one billion dollars from the US army.
What about the Ukraine war?
In addition to the Russian “Wagner” and the Ukrainian “Azov”, there are several foreign companies recruiting mercenaries and hired workers to fight in Ukraine, the most prominent of which are:
- Global-Aegis is an official partner of the Pentagon and NATO, according to the military website The Intercept.
- US Military Mozart Collection.
- The iron navy company operates in Ukraine and recruits mercenaries from all over the world, according to the intelligence website Intelligence Online.
- The International Legion, established by Ukraine at the beginning of the war.
- The two military companies, “Torch” and “Flame”, are owned by the Russian gas company “Gazprom”.
- The Russian company “Redout”, which is fighting in Ukraine and was founded by former Russian paratroopers.
- Company “Patriot”, which consists of retired Russian special forces.
Why countries resort to military companies?
The Russian military expert, Vladimir Igor, considered that one of the countries’ motives for seeking help from military companies and forcing them into war fronts is to “avoid the political cost that occurs if soldiers of the regular armies of those countries are killed on the territory of other countries, or during secret intelligence operations.”
Igor added, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”:
- “The dead of these companies are not registered. In the Pentagon, for example, they are not included in the army’s human losses, which relieves electoral pressure on the US administration.”
- “Some skilled American soldiers are being furloughed to work in these companies, outside of the formal establishment.”
- “Wagner is not the only one working on the battlefields, as the American Blackwater preceded work in Iraq and dozens of countries.”
- “The Russian army used these companies to wage raids on towns and gang wars on its behalf, and to confront the attacks of the Ukrainian forces.”
What are the circumstances surrounding the Wagner rebellion?
When asked about the circumstances surrounding the “Wagner” rebellion against the Russian army, Igor said:
- “Wagner made a mistake when it felt that the Russian regular army could replace it.”
- “It is under the umbrella of the Russian Defense Ministry, but what it has done amounts to acts of treason in times of war.”
- Military corporations are a familiar method in many countries around the world.
- “Britain and America have the largest security and paramilitary companies, but they were not given opportunities like those granted to Wagner.”
Secret missions
In turn, the Russian military expert, Alexei Anpilogov, agreed with Igor F that “what Wagner did amounted to military treason,” stressing the need for “that group to vanish from the military and political scene in Russia.” added:
- “Some Western countries have reduced their military budgets and the number of their soldiers, and have resorted to recruiting military companies and mercenaries.”
- “These companies operating in Ukraine are mostly American, and they charge exorbitant wages.”
- “European and American armies have resorted to the services of private military companies since the 1990s to carry out certain secret missions.”
- “Military leaders consider hiring regular soldiers for several years unprofitable, so they prefer to assign security companies.”
- “The Russian state should not form paramilitary entities or bodies that are not subject to regular military laws, like Wagner.”
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