The Wagner Group (Russian: Группа Вагнера, tr. Gruppa Vagnera), officially known as PMC Wagner[6] (Russian: ЧВК[a] «Вагнер», tr. ChVK «Vagner»[55]; lit. 'Wagner Private Military Company'), is a Russian paramilitary organization.[6] It is seen as a private military company (PMC), a network of mercenaries and a de facto private army of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[6][56] It operates in support of Russian interests, receives equipment from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and has used MoD installations for training.[57] While the Wagner Group itself is not ideologically driven,[58][59] various elements of Wagner have been linked to neo-Nazism and far-right extremism.[6][60][61]

It is widely speculated that the Wagner Group is used by the Russian government to allow for plausible deniability and to obscure the true casualties and financial costs of Russia's foreign interventions.[62] The group came to prominence during the Donbas war in Ukraine, where it helped pro-Russian separatist forces of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics from 2014 to 2015.[6] Its contractors have reportedly taken part in various conflicts around the world, including the civil wars in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, and Mali, often fighting on the side of forces aligned with the Russian government.[6] Wagner operatives have committed war crimes in areas where they are deployed.[6][63][64] The accusations include rape and robbery of civilians,[65] as well as torturing accused deserters.[66][67]

Wagner has played a significant role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where it has been reportedly deployed to assassinate Ukrainian leaders,[68] among other activities, and for which it has recruited prison inmates from Russia for frontline combat.[69][70] In December 2022, United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby claimed Wagner has 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts.[71] Others put the number of recruited prisoners at more than 20,000,[72] with the overall number of PMC forces present in Ukraine estimated at 20,000.[73] In 2023, Russia granted combat veteran status to Wagner contractors who took part in the invasion.[74]

After years of denying links to the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close links to Putin, admitted in September 2022 that he founded the paramilitary group. He specifically declared, "I am proud that I was able to defend their right to protect the interests of their country."[75][76] On 23 June 2023, Prigozhin staged a mutiny against the Russian leadership after accusing Russian troops of attacking his men.[77] Wagner units were pulled from Ukraine and moved into Rostov-on-Don in Rostov Oblast, Russia, according to early reports by Prigozhin.[78][79]

와그너 그룹은 러시아의 민간 용병 회사이다. 이 그룹의 회장(?)은 프리고진이다.

그는 푸틴의 세프였고 그로인해서 푸틴의 측근이 되었다. 그 영향력으로 용병회사

를 차렸다. 와그너 구룹은 러시아가 직접 간여한다는 것을 감출 필요가  있는 

분쟁지역에 와그너 구룹 군대를 보내 왔다. 아프리카, 시리아, 유크레인에서 활략

하고 있다. 무기와 군수물자를 러시아 국방부로 부터 지원 받았다. 돈바스 지역에서

유크레인과 싸우고 있는 그들은 부족한 보급 때문에 항상 불만이었다. 현재 그들은 

유크레인 전선에서 철수하여 로스토프 언 돈 지역을 점령하고 있는 것으로 알려

졌다.  모그크바는 비상사태를 선포한 것으로 보인다. 

무장 반란을 일으킨 러시아 용병기업 바그너 그룹이 모스크바로 진격하던 병력을 철수한다고 밝혔다. 반란 하루 만에 벨라루스의 중재에 따라 러시아 당국과 합의했다.

러시아는 바그너 그룹의 수장인 예브게니 프리고진이 벨라루스로 떠나는 조건으로 그와 병사들을 처벌하지 않기로 했다. 24시간에 걸친 반란 사태는 극적으로 해결됐지만, 향후 블라디미르 푸틴 러시아 대통령의 리더십에 적잖은 타격이 될 것이란 전망이 나오고 있다.

https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25172281