December 6, 2024:
The Russian Wagner Group mercenaries are shutting down operations in Ukraine and concentrating on its Africa operations. This came about because Vladimir Putin had to settle a dispute between the Russian generals in Ukraine and Wagner’s boss over who deserved credit for some minor victories in Ukraine. Putin sided with the generals and ordered the Wagner Group to concentrate on Africa. Wagner Group is a profitable international operation that reports directly to Putin. The Wagner Group was sent to Ukraine because the Russian army needed help, not competition and criticism.
Meanwhile the United States began imposing sanctions on members of the Russian Wagner Group and those affiliated with Wagner Group. The United States defines much of what Wagner Group does as a form of terrorism. Some of it definitely is. Most of the criminal offenses were committed by Wagner Group personnel sent to Africa, where the profits from legal and illegal activities were abundant.
More recently, a Chinese space satellite manufacturer and satellite operator was sanctioned for selling the Wagner Group satellite imagery of Ukrainian military units and facilities. These imagery services aided Wagner Group during an offensive against Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine. During these operations Wagner Group members committed numerous atrocities and war crimes. Wagner Group activity in Ukraine receives far more publicity than the more lucrative dirty deeds Wagner was guilty of in many parts of Africa. For Ukraine, the Wagner Group recruited convicts with the promise of a pardon if they served six months. This backfired when it became known that only about 20 percent of the first convicts recruited survived their six months and received their pardons. Recent recruiting efforts show that far fewer convicts are willing to volunteer and, justifiably, feel safer serving out their sentences. Russia then banned Wagner from recruiting prison inmates. Instead, the Russian military does the recruiting and offers more survivable terms of service as well as the pardon after the term of service is completed.