Wagner Group of mercenaries

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About Wagner Group:

The Wagner Group, officially called PMC Wagner, is a Russian paramilitary organization.
It is basically a private military company and a network of mercenaries.
Origin: It first emerged in 2014 during Russia’s annexation of Crimea and has since operated in Syria and at least a half dozen African countries, including Libya, Sudan, Mozambique, Mali, and the Central African Republic.
It was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, a former special forces officer in Russia’s GRU military intelligence.
Although mercenary forces are technically illegal in Russia, Wagner registered as a “private military company” in 2022.
Symbol: It is composed of a solid black roundel with a white image of a human skull in the scope, symbolizing victory over death.
Its operations have been closely tied to the Russian military and intelligence community.
Wagner’s services vary based on the needs of its clients, which include rebel groups and regimes, and its funding ranges from direct payment to resource concessions.
The military units of PMC Wagner numbered varied at different times and according to various sources from 1,350 to 100,000 people.

Q1: What is a Paramilitary organization?

A paramilitary organization (also listed as quasi military) is a semi-militarized force whose organizational structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not formally part of a country’s armed forces.

Source: Russia’s Wagner admits severe losses in Mali battles