Who will replace Wagner PVC. Why Russian elites their private military companies

The general made such a statement during a speech to US Congress members. For comparison, the number of Belgium's army is only 12,000 servicemen. The founder of the Wagner PEC Yevhen Prigogin has already stated that his military formation is ready to leave the territory of Ukraine after they fulfill their task in Bakhmut. These fighters are almost the only Russian force that tries to fight in Bakhmut.

At least such conclusions can be drawn after reading the summary of the Armed Forces General Staff and numerous reports of Western analytical centers. In addition to the "Wagnets" in Ukraine are fighting a number of Russian PECs, which is already known to the general public. Info, the creation of new military mercenaries, is also systematically emerging. For example, the other day it became known about the creation in the Crimea of ​​PEC "Convoy" Sergei Aksenov.

Private military companies are not something new, for the first time they began to be created in the West in the early 1970s. In Russia, this business came with the collapse of the USSR: as a rule, large oil and gas or mining enterprises financed units created from veterans of the army and special services. Their task was to protect deposits and oil development abroad, which mastered the companies, delivery of goods and support with goods.

Subsequently, similar companies, but already affordable with the Defense Ministry or the Federal Security Service (FSB) began to be involved in military conflicts. As, for example, war in Syria, Georgia or invasion of Ukraine. "Military losses of mercenaries do not go into the general statistics of personnel. As many of them, the Ministry of Defense and Putin, as the Supreme Commander, have nothing to do with," - explains the military expert of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future Ivan Stupak.

Such activity fits in well with the Putin concept of "them there are no", when the Russian military actually fulfills the tasks, but legally the army is not there. The most famous to the general public Wagner PEC was created from the retirers, officers of special units during hostilities in Africa and Syria. Already in 2014, its representatives participated in hostilities in the territory of Donetsk, Luhansk regions and annexation of Crimea.

Before the start of a full -scale invasion, such activities were not particularly advertised, and after February 2022, on the contrary, Russian propaganda issued numerous posts on the successes of "Wagnerians" or "Kadyrivs". Thus, the psychological effect of participation in the war of elite military units with the best training and experience was made.

According to irony, in the next few months, all elite military units of the Russian army, such as Pskov, Ryazan, Tula Airborne Divisions or Marines from Vladivostok, were destroyed in Ukraine. This was one of the reasons for the open involvement of PECs in Ukraine in Ukraine. At the Wagner PEC, everyone was first willing to be recruited, and later they switched to Russian prisons - the assault units in exchange for their pardon were formed. "Today, Wagner has changed the strategy for recruitment.

It is known that about 50 points of recruitment have been opened throughout Russia. Given the socio-economic status in the country, I think that there will . In 2018, the Wagner PEC conducted a legal reorganization by taking the name "League" and opening offices in a number of European countries. Against the background of sanctions against the founder of the PEC Yevgeny Prigogine, their further official activity became impossible.

In addition, the entire business of Wagner PEC is recognized by the US authorities with an international criminal group. The other day, the Russian edition "Important History" reported that the so -called "Crimean Head" Sergei Aksyonov founded his PEC "Convoy", which is actually a company Bars (abbreviation from "Special Army Reserve"), created in 2021 under the roof of the Ministry of Defense RF.

Then everyone who has military experience and ready to participate in meetings and training, that is, in the reserve, was involved in the leopard. It is known that the newly created "convoy" is stationed in the Crimea and conducts training in the village of Pereagna near Simferopol. According to Ivan Stupak, the administrative and command method was involved in the "convoy" for reformatting from the leopard.

"They just gathered local businessmen and said: pay! You do not want to pay, so you do not participate in the defense of the Crimea. It is at the PEC Aksyonova that the main tasks of protecting the peninsula from the Ukrainian counter -offensive," the expert says. At the end of December 2022, in the eastern group of the troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was reported that under Ugledar (Donetsk region) noticed representatives of PEC "Patriot".

This company was created by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and, reprimanded, personally by Minister of Defense Sergei Shoig. In the press, this PEC lit up in 2018 in the fighting in Syria. It is noteworthy that it was at that time that the Wagnerivtsi suffered the greatest losses near the Syrian city of Deir-Zor. As the Russian opposition press wrote at the time, this was one of the reasons for the further conflict between Prigogin and Shogu.

Then the head of the Wagner PEC through his "troll factories" even arranged media attacks on the Minister of Defense. As of the end of March 2023, representatives of Patriot PECs did not remember anything special on the fighting line. Redout PEC is better known. In October 2022, the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine detained a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, who was a mercenary of the company.

During the interrogation, he reported that he had been recruited to a machine gunner, for which he was promised $ 3,600 on a monthly basis. Prior to the commencement of a full -scale invasion of PEC "Redut" provided only the services of property protection abroad. According to open sources, this military company is associated with Genadiy Timchenko, a close associate of the Russian president. Timchenko is also called "Putin's personal wallet" in the oil and gas business.

Redut PECs - participation in fighting in Syria, Iraq, Georgia and Africa. For some time, the company even participated in peacekeeping operations, the fight against Somali pirates in the waters near the African horn. It is estimated that several thousand fighters include PECs, first and foremost, former representatives of special units who have been released or dismissed from service through disciplinary guilt.

Redut PEC participated in the attack on Kiev, one of its commanders - Ivan Mikhayev was liquidated near the capital in March 2022. Another company was created on behalf of the state, namely the FSB. The name "Edin folk community companions" received their name from the abbreviation, and military-patriotic clubs for young people were taken as the basis. The PEC was based on Russian far -right radicalists, nationalists and retired FSB staff.

According to the German edition of Bild, the Russian government allowed the Gazprom Oil enterprise to create a private organization designed to protect the company's energy facilities. Subsequently, Russian military correspondents stated that it is a classic PVC, which is already being brought to Ukraine to participate in hostilities. It is also reported that the mercenaries of this company are paid twice as much as the Wagner.

The publication suggests that the creation of Gazprom PEC is a sign of the preparation of Russian elites for the probable civil war and the end of Putin's regime. In addition to PVC, it is worth mentioning the volunteer battalions created by governors in almost every regions of Russia. They are funded and provided by regional budgets and are actually personal armies of administration representatives.

A striking example of this is Chechnya and military units that are subject to Ramzana Kadyrov personally. It is worth noting that the activity of PEC in the war zone is equated with hiring. The activities of mercenaries are contrary to international conventions, they do not apply to the rules of international humanitarian law on the rights of prisoners or military personnel. Moreover, the Russian legislation is prohibited and punishable.

In order to ensure the mercenaries of numerous Russian PECs weapons and the necessary equipment, in the official documents of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation they are defined as volunteers. Ivan Stupak believes that the creation of PEC in Russia has become a kind of fashion among oligarchs and helps them to show their loyalty to the Kremlin. In addition, this allows you to mobilize the available resource in the front on the front. "This is the desire to demonstrate its loyalty.

By the way, Putin also benefits from this, because the oligarchs who have declared or have already created their PVCs are in the eyes of the event with him at the same level. That is, the same criminals," - - - He says. According to Snegirev, all existing and new Russian PECs are created for one purpose to attract as many soldiers in Ukraine as possible. "They are needed to hide the hidden nature of mobilization. Putin has become a hostage to his ideological game by starting the so -called" his ".

This means the use of a limited military contingent. Partial mobilization does not allow more than 300,000 people to attract. If more declare full mobilization and martial law, "he says. The expert notes that the financially motivated mercenaries or the former are much more efficient in combat tasks than the so -called "Chmobins". In addition, in the case of the prisoner made a great service to the Kremlin - reduced the load on the prison system.

And their further elimination in the war will have a positive effect on the criminogenic situation in Russia. At the same time, experts deny that in the future, PECs will be able to become some effective force in the Russian redistribution of power and political influence. One of the conditions of the Wagner Zek's pardon is the guarantee that they will never return to the territory of Russia. They are allowed to stay only in the temporarily occupied Donbass.

Moreover, all this numerous army does not have its weapons. "All these PVCs are virtual, they have people, but they have no weapons. The FSB clearly cuts down these topics. In addition, these people are unlisted with money, no one will do anything for free," - explains Focus Stupak. Snegirev notes that all surviving PVC veterans, most likely, will be sent somewhere to Syria, Chad, Small or King, or physically eliminate the most dangerous.