The shine has come off Russia’s regular armed forces. We’ve all seen the pictures in Ukraine of burned out vehicles and crashed drones, everything already starting to rust. Casualties for the Russian military are estimated to be over 100,000.
But the Russian Army isn’t the only force in Ukraine fighting on Moscow’s behalf. The Wagner Group is there, too, and we know far less about them and what they’re doing.
To help us get a better view, we’re joined by Jason Blazakis. He’s Director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and a senior research fellow at the Soufan Group. and wrote an op-ed for Newsweek on Wagner last week.
image: Russian mercenaries provide security for convoy with president of the Central African Republic. Clément Di Roma photo.
