| Title: | What is Russia's Wagner group of mercenaries and why did it march on Moscow? |
| URL: | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60947877 |
| Publisher: | BBC News |
| Date published: | June 27, 2023 |
| Date updated: | June 27, 2023 |
| Description: | BBC article: Introduction to the Wagner Group, in the wake of their failed coup attempt against Putin (24 June, 2023) |
| Excerpt: | What is the Wagner group and how big is it? The Wagner group was first identified in 2014, when it started backing pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. It is thought to have helped Russia annex Crimea in the same year. […] What crimes are Wagner troops accused of? Ukrainian prosecutors say three Wagner mercenaries killed and tortured civilians near Kyiv in April 2022, alongside regular Russian troops. German intelligence says Wagner troops may also have massacred civilians in Bucha in March 2022. The UN and the French government have accused Wagner troops of raping and robbing civilians in the Central African Republic. In 2020, the United States military accused Wagner mercenaries of planting landmines and other improvised explosive devices in and around the Libyan capital, Tripoli. |
