MESOP NEWS WAR CULTURE : HOW “WAGNER” COME TO SYRIA / PUTIN’S MERCENARIES
A Mesop Short Commentary – 14 Febr 2018
‘On the ground, the force functions as a “pseudo-private” military company, taking direction from the Russian army, says Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis.
The model was first tested in the war in eastern Ukraine, where a patchwork of forces operated with differing degrees of distance from the Russian government. Alongside local separatists and regular Russian army units were groups of Russian volunteers and mercenaries, among them Mr Utkin and an early iteration of the Wagner force.’ – www.mesop.de