Wagner Mercenary

**Wagner Mercenaries** are enemies in *Death From Above*.

## Real-world description and background

The Wagner Group is a private military contractor (PMC) from Russia. Let's just say they're not exactly known for their humanitarian efforts. This shady private army has been linked to all sorts of atrocities, with reports of torturing and killing people, and doing all kinds of dirty work for the Kremlin for years. The Wagner Group has participated in wars all around the world - their actions in Ukraine, Syria, and the Central African Republic are particularly infamous.

Their founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is known as Putin's "chef". He was formerly a close associate of the Russian president and made a fortune in the food industry. Then he started to supply cannon fodder. Russia denied the very existence of the Wagner Group for years, but now they celebrate them as heroes, particularly as they've become an increasingly important tool for Putin's regime in Ukraine.

Formerly, the Wagner group consisted mostly of ruthless mercenaries, but they suffered heavy losses during the Russian attack on Ukraine. That's when Prigozhin started to recruit prisoners. Poorly trained and poorly equipped, these criminal conscripts had to rely on sheer numbers.

Yevgeny Prigozhin has serious political ambitions. For a while, he allowed himself to directly confront the military command, not only by verbally insulting ministers and generals but also by directly disobeying orders and even engaging in skirmishes with regular Russian troops.

Things escalated so much that in June 2023, Wagner, led by Prigozhin, rebelled against the Russian government, seizing control of Rostov-on-Don and the Southern Military District headquarters, and advancing towards Moscow.

The rebellion was short-lived, and Wagner stood down following negotiations with Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who offered safety guarantees to Prigozhin and his men. After the rebellion, some of the Wagner fighters were offered military contracts, effectively integrating them into the Russian military. Others are set to join Prigozhin in Belarus, but only if Putin holds up his end of the bargain and lets them go, instead of seeking revenge for his humiliation.

### Convicts

After suffering heavy losses in Ukraine, the Wagner Group started to use poorly trained convicts as soldiers in their military operations.

The convicts are typically offered a deal: serve in the Wagner Group and receive early release. In exchange, they are sent to war, without proper equipment or even basic training on how to handle a weapon. Often they are promised that they will only dig trenches. Instead, they are having to fight, even trying to take fortified bases, serving as a bullet sponge for Ukrainians.

Some have reported being forced to sign contracts without fully understanding the terms, or being threatened with re-imprisonment if they refuse to serve. At the same time, it is being reported that the Wagner Group prefers violent criminals. Many of the prisoners see the war in Ukraine as an opportunity of looting and killing, even if only a few survive long enough to enjoy it. Others just try to escape by surrendering or defecting.