Wagner Commander Killed - Marat Gabidulin Sitting in a coffee shop in a posh suburb of Moscow, former mercenary Marat Gabidulin was drawn away from the battlefields of Syria where he fought half a decade ago.
"I wrote this because I realized it's time for our country to face the truth," Gabidullin said of his recently completed memoir Twice on a River, the first published account of the fight for the Russian secret mercenary group Wagner. face: mercenaries. exists".
Wagner Commander Killed
At 55, he is a towering figure, his face and muscular arms covered in freckles. "In Russia, we prefer not to talk about our mercenaries," he added. "It doesn't fit the official narrative."
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In 2015, Gabidullin, a veteran of the Russian Air Force and former bodyguard of Wagner, joined what was then a relatively unknown mercenary group. Soon, he was sent to fight in Syria alongside the Russian military, which was supported by President Bashar al-Assad, and quickly rose to command one of Wagner's five units there.
Wagner was founded in 2014 to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and is allegedly funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a powerful businessman who has been linked to Vladimir Putin, who has faced Western sanctions.
Since its inception, the company has been shrouded in mystery. On paper, a company does not exist without a company registration, tax return or organizational chart.
Western governments and scholars believe that Wagner is an unofficial tool of the Kremlin's foreign policy, used where Russia wants to expand its influence or incite unrest. Prigogine and Moscow denied any knowledge of Wagner; officially, private military companies remain illegal in Russia. Prigozhin's representatives did not respond to requests for comment on this issue.
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Gabidullin did not try to deny the existence of Wagner and his active role in the interests of Russian security. Instead, he said one of his main motivations for writing the book was to bring mercenary companies like Wagner "out of the shadows" and to emphasize their potential benefits to Russian foreign policy goals.
"Mercenary groups have no place to be ashamed, they are everywhere, but we lie about them," he said. "We have special skills that the regular army lacks."
The memoirs, which Gabidulin claims to have witnessed, were written three years after Wagner's campaign in Syria. It features some of the greatest mercenary battles, including two operations to liberate the ancient city of Palmyra. Dozens of Wagner soldiers are believed to have fought and been killed in Syria since the conflict began in 2011.
The ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria, after heavy fighting in 2016, in which Wagner is said to have participated. Photo: AP
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"The successes of the Russian army in Syria were more than the sacrifices of the mercenaries. This reality is completely ignored by the military structures and is not known to the public, Gabidullin complained and was saddened that the "middle" generals of the Russian army are getting high positions based on Wagner's achievements.
Gabidullin, who is deaf after years of fighting, also said he took part in the 2018 Hosham battle, where hundreds of Russian mercenaries were killed after US airstrikes against pro-regime forces in the deadliest conflict between Russia and Russia. goes and the USA since the Cold War.
“We would never have been there; disrupted our leadership. The Americans knew exactly where we were," he said, recalling those events.
After Syria, Wagner's popularity grew following reported operations in the Central African Republic and Libya, resource-rich countries in which Russia has strategic interests. The group's growing influence has also divided Mali and its European allies after the West African country deployed Wagner's fighters in December.
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And as tensions over Ukraine have escalated in recent months, Reuters has reported that unnamed Russian mercenaries have been deployed to separatist-held eastern Ukraine. Last week, the American newspaper Daily Beast claimed that Wagner's troops were being transferred from Africa, possibly to Ukraine.
Gabidullin said he had "vaguely heard" about the deployment of mercenaries in Ukraine and quickly added that a Russian attack would be a "catastrophic" mistake. "I think that the war between Ukraine and Russia will be a total disaster for Russia. Under no circumstances should it be allowed to happen. Ukraine is our brother."
During the conversation, Gabidullin was somewhat excited, his piercing blue eyes wandered around the empty cafe. He said he was worried about the failure of his book to be published and wanted to avoid mentioning his former boss, Prigogine.
"I think that [Prigoghin] is trying to discredit me. I'm walking a tightrope here," he said.
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He initially wanted to publish the memoir in 2020, but quickly withdrew the book after pressure from "certain people". But this time he decided not to lose himself and found a "brave" publisher in Yekaterinburg. Michel Lafon's publishing house in Paris plans to publish a French version as well.
"I thought to myself, 'That's enough, it's time to come out of the shadows.' I will not be deterred from posting again. Because this is not only about me, - said Gabidulin.
He pointed out how Russia's ban on private military companies puts pressure on family members of dead mercenaries to keep quiet about their loved ones. Gabidullin hopes that his book will help lift the veil of secrecy surrounding his former career.
"This current situation does not suit many of my friends. Most importantly, this does not please the parents and relatives of the killed mercenaries, who cannot even speak openly about the death of their son or brother. They can only whisper."
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While Gabidullin's memoirs challenge the official narrative about the existence of mercenaries in Russia, a separate PR campaign was launched last year to publicize the activities of groups like Wagner.
Russian state television has recently aired a series of patriotic films produced by companies linked to Prigozhin, showing unnamed Russian "instructors and volunteers" in eastern Ukraine, the Central African Republic and Mozambique - places where Wagner's fighters they were active, fighting.
In these films, which Gabidullin called "garbage", they describe the Russian heroes saving the local population from the hands of aggressive rebels. They sharply contradict recent UN reports accusing Wagner agents of atrocities against civilians in the Central African Republic, or allegations that Wagner's soldiers tortured and killed a prisoner in Syria.
In the face of these allegations, Gabidullin said that he had never seen his friends in such actions, but added that considering the current situation of this group, such crimes can be expected. "The state puts mercenaries in a situation where they can act outside the law, and the soldier has to set his own moral standards. But of course we have to investigate this mess.” The infamous Wagner Group is a private criminal army working exclusively for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and now one of its most feared leaders has been killed in Ukraine.
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Alexey (Aleksey) Nagin was the leader of the infamous Wagner group and was found dead near Bakhmut on September 20.
He previously fought for Russia in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Libya, but was eventually killed in Ukraine.
It is not yet clear how he died, but Bakhmut has been the source of intense fighting in recent weeks as Russia has stepped up its efforts to secure the Donbass region.
The photo of Nagin's chest, along with the official photo of his army, was circulated in Ukrainian Telegram groups at night.
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A video of his funeral was also released, in which Yevgeny Prigozhin - a famous Russian oligarch and a close friend of President Vladimir Putin - was present.
Prigozhin specializes in espionage and fraud and has been sanctioned by the US for his involvement in trying to influence the results of the 2016 presidential election and other political contests.
He is believed to be allied with Maria Butina, a Russian spy who infiltrated various conservative political groups such as the National Rifle Association.
Russian expert Rob Lee wrote on Twitter: "Evgeny Prigozhin was present at the funeral of Alexei Nagin, the commander of the "Wagner" assault unit, who allegedly fought in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, Libya and Ukraine.
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Wagner's group, whose commander-in-chief is modeled after private armies, such as US military contractors Blackwater or South Africa's Executive Results.
But while these companies are ready to offer their services to the most expensive, the Wagner group works for only one client - Vladimir Putin.
In one conflict alone—the Central African Republic [CAR] civil war—Russian-backed "instructors" have been implicated in 103 alleged war crimes, including torture, murder, and rape.
While some of Wagner's staff are ex-military, many are ex-convicts with little or no military training and experience.
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Britain's WeatherMet office is issuing a five-day yellow warning with the "worst snow in a decade". Meteorologists at the Met Office have issued yellow weather warnings for five days in a row - and the snow shows no sign of letting up.
Experts are predicting Britain will be drenched in arctic-like conditions during the first half of next week, and the Daily Star has found out exactly when and where it will hit.
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Weather conditions in the UK are set to become even more unsettled in the coming days
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