Contents tagged with Wagner private military company
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Three Russian mercenaries killed in Syria
Three Russian mercenaries from the new private military company (PMC) Shchit (“Shield”) have been killed, Novaya Gazeta reports, citing its own sources and the victims’ relatives.
The mercenaries were reportedly killed during an armed confrontation in the Palmyra region, presumably on 15 July. According to the various pieces of information that the outlet was able to collect, the contractors were killed in mortar fire after their vehicle exploded. One other Russian was injured during the …
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Kremlin: Russian military experts left Venezuela
Russian Il-62 aircraft, which arrived in Caracas on June 25, flew back a group of military-technical experts who worked in Venezuela under the old contracts for the last three months, reads the message of the Russian Embassy in Venezuela.
The diplomats recalled that earlier Venezuela received complex equipment from Russia that requires regular maintenance. In addition to equipment support, Russian specialists "were involved in the training of Venezuelan personnel."
The Embassy assured that …
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Lavrov asks Central African Republic to speed up investigation into Russian journalists' deaths
At a meeting with Foreign Minister of Central African (CAR) Republic Sylvie Baïpo-Temon during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asked to speed up the investigation into the murder of three Russian journalists committed in July 2018.
Lavrov also said that Russia is ready to help CAR to normalize the situation in the country.
Russian journalists Orkhan Jemal, Alexander Rastorguev and Kirill Radchenko, were killed on July 30, 2018, close …
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Putin’s chef Prigozhin wins multi-billion ruble government contracts
The companies connected to the Russian businessman Yevgeny “Putin’s chef” Prigozhin have acquired more than 10 billion rubles worth of new contracts in 2019, the Russian news agency The Bell reported, citing the state procurements website and the SPARK-Interfax company monitoring service.
The Bell examined the contracts of 13 legal entities believed to be connected to Prigozhin. Aside from Concord M and the Concord catering company, companies to which Prigozhin acknowledges his connection, …
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Media: Former Berkut officer suspected of Euromaidan shootings may have died in Syria
Ruslan Horbik, a former Berkut officer who is wanted for sniper killings during Euromaidan, may have been killed in Syria while working for the Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner. The Ukrainian authorities are currently investigating this possibility, Hromadske reports.
Horbik fled from Ukraine to Russia at the end of February 2014, and obtained Russian citizenship in 2015. His mother, Nadezhda, said that he first worked in Russia as a masseur, and later got a job in the police. In …
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UN investigates possible Russian involvement in tortures of civilians in the Central African Republic
The UN started investigating reports of tortures in the Central African Republic with the alleged participation of Russian citizens, stated United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) spokesperson Vladimir Monteiro.
“We confirm that we are investigating the accusations of a person from Bambari that he was arrested and tortured by Russian citizens in January this year,” he said. He explained that the investigation is being carried …
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US: Russia has 175 Wagner mercenaries in Central African Republic
The US is concerned by Russia’s growing presence in African countries, said General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of the US Africa Command, during hearings of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“In the Central African Republic (CAR), Russia has consolidated its influence through expanded military collaboration, including arms shipments, and in exchange it gains access to markets and mineral rights in the country,” the general said.
Waldhauser also noted that the US has reason to believe …
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The USA seeks evidence of Russia’s special forces in Venezuela
On February 7th, Admiral Craig Faller, head of the Southern US armed forces command stated during the hearing of the Armed Services Committee of the US Senate that the United States is familiar with reports that “Russian security forces” allegedly were transferred to Venezuela. The American authorities are trying to confirm this information.
“I am not aware of the details of this situation, but we are closely monitoring it. We saw media publications that the Russian security forces have been …
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Russian soldier killed in Syria
On 31 January, a Russian contract soldier was killed “while carrying out a combat assignment” in Syria. The 24 year-old, Maxim Pletnev, was a resident of town of Tikhoretsk in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, Radio Liberty reports.
The fact that he died in the Near East was confirmed by Sergey Zakharov, deputy head of the Tikhoretsk region. Journalists discovered that Pletnev had also served on the Russian-Ukrainian border at the height of the conflict in the Donbas.
Pletnev’s death was reported by …
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Russian media: Aircraft belonging to ‘Putin’s chef’ flies frequently to Syria and Africa
A private jet believed to belong to the Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as “Putin’s chef”, has been flying nearly every month to the Near East and Africa, where Russian mercenaries are known to be fighting, according to an investigation by the Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
The aircraft, a Raytheon HAWKER 800XP with the registration number M-VITO, officially belongs to a company in the Seychelles with an …