Shock messages & photos reveal ‘army for hire’ Wagner Group’s global spread & ruthless tactics as they plot to oust Vlad

DAMNING messages and photos show the chilling reach Russian mercenary company the Wagner Group – and their terrifying ambitions for a new Russian empire.

Encrypted channels on messaging app Telegram reveal new evidence about the activities of the guns-for-hire – with pictures showing their activities in Africa and their links to southeast Asia & South America.

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Wagner Group have stepped from the shadows over the last year as they become increasingly involved in the war in Ukraine – including this weekingly shockingly seized the city of Bakhmut.

The fighters have often been seen as Vladimir Putin’s private army – separate from the main formations of Russia’s military services.

They are lead by the increasingly deranged warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, who rose from being known as “Putin’s chef” to being one of the most powerful men in Russia.

It is believed Prigozhin has ambitions of replacing Putin in the top job – and Western intelligence has confirmed Vlad has fears over his attack dog’s loyalty.

Prigozhin has openly raged against his former patron – appearing to call the 70-year-old “grandpa” and a “complete a**hole”, before later denying he was talking about Vlad.

His stock amongst the Russian elite will once again be on the rise now as he is taking full credit for the capture of Bakhmut after a bloody 8-month channel.

And so The Sun Online took a deep dive into channels used by the Wagner Group – revealing a group with almost cult-like dedication to their cause and a wide global ranging operation.

Pictures and messages in the Grey Zone Telegram channel – which is closely affiliated with, if not run by, the Wagner Group – are mainly focused on Ukraine.

But there is also evidence that further supporting accusations that Wagner has been active in Africa and Asia – and hints they could be operating in Asia and Latin America.

Experts described the messages uncovered by The Sun Online as “worrying” – and said they could show previously unreported Wagner activity in countries such as Myanmar and Nicaragua.

Wagner – who often recruit former convicts and pump soldiers full of drugs before sending to the frontline – are open about their love of violence and battle.

Hauntingly, some of the images shared of soldiers holding guns in remote countries are tagged “Война – отрада”, meaning “war is a blessing”.

The messages also reveal Wagner’s imperial ambitions – openly talking about a new Russian Empire expanding deep into Europe.

Since its formation, Wagner and other Russian paramilitaries have been accused of committing human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Mali and Mozambique.

The 50,000-strong group have been accused of killing children, raping and torturing women, and carrying out brutal executions.

Putin is believed to used the group to give himself plausible deniability as they are not explicitly tied to the Kremlin.

It is however widely understood the the mercenary force acts with the full sanction of the Russian state.

Wagner mercenaries are often retired Russian soldiers and they reportedly earn up to £2,000 pounds a month.

And a recent post shows the group continue to actively recruit in Africa, advertising “tourist destinations” to “one of several countries”.

Recruits are asked to be aged between 22 and 50 – and Wagner notes they are particularly looking for medics.

They will earn 240,000 rubles a month – or £2,400 if they get the job.

The ad was accompanied with pictures of various Wagner mercs purportedly serving in Africa – but they did not specify which countries.

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Katya Hakim is a senior researcher at the Dossier Centre – an organisation which tracks the criminal activity of those in the Kremlin.

She explained that the connection between the Kremlin and Wagner is clear – Wagner could not be nearly as influential as it is without assistance of the Russian government.

She told The Sun Online: “Wagner doesn’t mean Prigozhin. Wagner means the Kremlin.

“It’s just impossible to imagine that several hundreds and sometimes thousands of individuals would travel to the Middle East or to Africa for instance [for Wagner], do a coup and then come back without any charges against them.”

The Grey Zone published photos of a Wagner commander awarding Sudanese soldiers at a ceremony in 2019, and other images show Wagner soldiers posing with guns in the region.

Wagner has been supplying weapons to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, which is currently engaged in a brutal conflict with Sudan’s armed forces – leading to the mass evacuation of foreigners.

In a recent message via Telegram, Wagner CEO Yevgeny Prigozhin said: “Our task is to expand the scope of Russia around the world from Alaska to Australia to South Africa.”

Attached to the message was a sickening map, showing a “United Reconstructed USSR” stretching from Alaska, through the middle east, deep into north Africa.

Katya continued: “Usually countries picked by Wagner are quite poor, meaning they would depend on resources provided by Russia.

“Resources doesn’t necessarily mean money – resources might mean military equipment.

“In return, they get endorsement for most of the decision making made by the Russian government. In the international bodies – just take a look at how some African countries are deciding on UN panels.

“The Central African Republic for instance is voting most of the time endorsing Russia.”

Referencing Wagner’s involvement in Sudan from 2017 until roughly 2021, a Telegram message refers to it as an achievement, but shockingly suggests going even further with their influence.

It reads: “We can go even further and recall groups of military advisers where there are none: in Venezuela, for example. In Nicaragua. In Angola. In Iraq.”

Katya revealed that while the Dossier Centre does not currently have intel on Wagner being active in Nicaragua, they “could be present” in the Latin American country.

For Alex Kokcharov, a London-based analyst focused on eastern Europe, these comments are worrying.

He provided context on these statements for The Sun: “They mean deployments of military advisers where ‘officially’ there were none.

“Soviets had their military advisers embedded in Nicaragua and Angola despite claiming none were present.”

The post on Telegram by paramilitaries also previously said: “There is an amazing rogue country called Myanmar.

“Take and send political consultants there, help resolve the situation – and a country that has historically sympathised with Russia will be served on a silver platter.”

The situation in question is Myanmar’s brutal civil war, which has been raging for decades.

And pictures shared on the group appear to show a mercenary from the Russia paramilitary group the Slavonic Corps in Myanmar.

The corps was precursor to the Wagner Group which was dissolved around the same time as they emerged in 2014.

Russia vetoed a UN resolution which would have condemned human rights abuses at the hands of Myanmar’s government.

Wagner’s influence across the world is not slowing down, as it aims to spread the Kremlin’s agenda worldwide and create a “new and improved” Soviet Union.

The group first appeared in Ukraine in 2014 where it played a key role in Russia’s illegal seizure of Crimea.

And they have neo-Nazi roots, with the name even being taken from Hitler’s favourite composer Richard Wagner.

It is believed to have been originally been led by former Russian special forces commando Dmitry Valerievich Utkin.

Utkin has tattoos honouring Adolf Hitler’s evil secret police the SS and the eagle symbol of the Third Reich.

Prigozhin always denied involvement – but in the middle of last year he finally admitted that he heads up Wagner.

Since then he has increasingly been seen on the frontlines in military fatigues – and appears to be positioning himself as a rival to Putin.

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