Wagner fighters likely started to redeploy to Ukraine - UK intelligence

In recent weeks, up to hundreds of fighters formerly associated with the Wagner Group private military company (PMC) have likely started to redeploy to Ukraine as individuals and small groups, fighting for a variety of pro-Russian units.

The UK Defense Ministry said this in an intelligence update posted on the social platform X, Ukrinform reports.

“The exact status of the redeploying personnel is unclear, but it is likely individuals have transferred to parts of the official Russian Ministry of Defence forces and other PMCs,” the report says.

The experts note that several reports suggest a concentration of Wagner veterans around Bakhmut.

“Their experience is likely to be particularly in demand in this sector. Many will be familiar with current front line and local Ukrainian tactics, having fought over the same terrain last winter,” the report says.

Wagner PMC withdrew from combat operations in Ukraine by early June 2023, prior to the abortive mutiny of 24 June 2023, and the subsequent death of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin and other senior leaders in a plane crash on 23 August 2023.

As Ukrinform reported, the British intelligence in its previous update said that the Russian Aerospace Forces had lost about 90 aircraft in combat since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine.

The photo is illustrative