A new interactive investigation by RFE/RL reveals the inner workings of a secretive scheme by Russian military intelligence to recruit fighters for the Kremlin's war on Ukraine under the guise of a fictitious private military company.
After the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a purportedly private military group called Redut has widely been tipped as Wagner’s potential successor as Russia’s key mercenary force. A new RFE/RL investigation reveals that Redut is, in reality, a secretive network operated by Russian military intelligence.
Alexander Boroday, Russian State Duma deputy and former "prime minister" of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) terrorist organisation, came under fire on the southern flank of Bakhmut. Source: Union of Donbas Volunteers, headed by Boroday Photo: Union of Donbas Volunteers Details: On Friday 21 July, Boroday's car "came under artillery shelling when leaving frontline positions of one of the battalions".
Allowing a psychopath to form a private army of violent criminals may not, on reflection, have been Vladimir Putin’s greatest idea. But Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutinous Wagner Group is by no means the only private army operating in Russia. Over the past couple of months no fewer than five armies have been fighting on Russian soil.