We present the report “Wagner Group Unleashed in Ukraine” to the United Nations
The Noviolencia Institute, in collaboration with Shock Monitor, the Observatory of Business and Human Rights in the Mediterranean, and the organization Suds, presents the report "Wagner Group Unleashed in Ukraine: The Military, Political, and Human Rights Impact of the Wagner Group Since the 2022 Invasion" at the United Nations headquarters within the framework of the United Nations Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries.
The research on the Wagner Group has been conducted by a research team coordinated by Felip Daza Sierra, along with Carlos Díaz Bodoque and the assistance of Anhelina Hrytsei and Mathilde Machteld Romeo. The research has received financial support and collaboration from the Catalan International Peace Institute (ICIP).
The report will be made public in September and analyzes the impact of the Wagner Group in Ukraine. The research includes testimonies from 40 experts, institutions, and civil society organizations in the academic and human rights fields. Military personnel involved in operations on the Ukrainian side were also interviewed. The presence of the Wagner Group in Ukraine has dramatically escalated the severity of the conflict, increasing casualties, intensifying the confrontation, and causing fragmentation among non-state armed actors.
Particular attention is drawn to the alleged involvement of the Wagner Group in war crimes, especially the murder of local authorities and the beheading of prisoners of war.
The ongoing judicial investigations by the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office document the use of prisoners as “forced human shields,” especially in the battles of Donbas. It is also noted that the Wagner Group designs combat operations and employs heavy weaponry, artillery, and technology for reconnaissance activities.
The group engages in predatory recruitment practices, including recruiting prisoners and marginalized youth in Russia and using foreign fighters from Syria, Serbia, Afghanistan, among others.
Secondly, the Wagner Group is playing an increasing political role, combining social conservatism, patriotic claims, and a cult of criminality. The rise in its activities is also identified in the general apathy of the Russian population towards the war, the lack of understanding of its military objectives, among others. In response, the Wagner Group has developed a business and media empire that supports the group’s criminal activities and other illicit activities, as well as abusive hiring practices. Wagner enjoys the support of far-right groups (RIM, TFRusich) and new media elites composed of military bloggers and influencers.
The report makes several fundamental recommendations:
For international organizations and national governments:
- Strengthen national regulatory frameworks for controlling PMSCs, including robust licensing, oversight, and effective remedies mechanisms.
- Create a comprehensive legally binding international instrument to regulate the activities of PMSCs, as well as appropriate standards to prevent human rights violations, protect victims, and ensure effective reparations.
- Designate the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization and an armed group financed by the Russian Federation.
- Promote international criminal prosecution, including the principles of universal jurisdiction.
For civil society organizations:
- Improve monitoring and reporting mechanisms on the activities of PMSCs and their intersectional impact on human rights, with a particular focus on women’s rights violations.
- Raise awareness among the general public and communities affected by conflicts so they can distinguish private contractors from regular forces and understand the political and social impact of the privatization of war.
- Carry out advocacy actions to promote international and national regulations for the control of PMSCs.