Summary and Key Points: One year ago today, the Wagner Group saga ended tragically when a bomb exploded on a private jet, killing its leaders, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin.

-The private military company, which had challenged Russian President Putin’s authority with a mutiny in June 2023, fragmented following the assassination.

-Many surviving members joined Russian military or paramilitary units, with Wagner’s influence dwindling from 50,000 to around 5,000 personnel.

-Once the most powerful Russian formation, known for its brutal tactics in Ukraine, Wagner's mutiny led to its downfall, with the Kremlin eliminating its leadership in cold blood.

Wagner Group’s Mutiny and Downfall: A Year Later

One year ago on this day, the Wagner Group saga came to an abrupt end. 

The leadership of the private military company was on a private jet when an explosion from a bomb that was smuggled on board destroyed the aircraft. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and founder Dmitry Utkin were both killed. 

A few weeks before, they had challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority with an unprecedented mutiny that saw Wagner Group tanks and armored personnel carriers rolling toward Moscow. 

Since that hot August day, the paramilitary company that once sowed fear in the hearts of its enemies has fragmented, with many of the leading figures that survived the Kremlin’s wrath leaving the mercenary company. 

The Fate of Wagner 

“Andrei ‘Sedoi’ Troshev, Wagner’s former chief executive, joined the Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD), likely as part of the Russian MOD’s Redut Private Military Company (PMC), tasked with forming Volunteer Corps units to fight in Ukraine,” British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate of the war. 

Since the Wagner mutiny last year, the Russian military has created several paramilitary and volunteer formations to absorb former Wagner mercenaries. 

“Alexandr ‘Ratibor’ Kuznetsov, former commander of Wagner’s 1st Assault Detachment  joined Chechen Special Forces (Spetsnaz) volunteer unit ‘Akhmat,’” British Military Intelligence stated.

“Boris ‘Zombi’ Nizhevenok, former commander of Wagner’s 3rd Assault Detachment, assumed leadership of the ‘Vostok-V’ volunteer unit in May 2024,” it added. “Numerous veteran Wagner personnel have followed these and other former Wagner leaders in transferring from the group. In comparison to its peak personnel count of around 50,000 in 2023, Wagner now highly likely maintains around 5,000 total personnel across its residual deployments in Belarus and Africa.” 

The Most Powerful Russian Unit 

At some point in the war, the Wagner Group was the most powerful Russian formation. Authorized by the Kremlin to recruit from Russia’s vast penal colonies, the Wagner Group swelled its ranks with convicts who volunteered to fight in Ukraine in exchange for the promise of freedom. Most of them died in the process. But the Wagner Group produced results for its Kremlin masters.

It was the paramilitary company that finally captured the town of Bakhmut after a year of fierce fighting and over 100,000 losses. Wagner Group leaders relied on brutal tactics to achieve their ends, often sending their men to be slaughtered by entrenched Ukrainians so that the defenders also suffered some attrition. The paramilitary group had other successes along the contact line. 

Prigozhin was very vocal about the shortcomings of the Russian military and the lack of support for his mercenaries. Emboldened by his successes, he sought to change the course of the war by launching a full-scale mutiny in June 2023. Wagner Group invaded Russia, capturing the city of Rostov-on-Don and the southern headquarters of the Russian military. The mercenaries then headed toward Moscow, clashing with Russian military units along the way. When the situation looked about to explode, backroom diplomacy prevailed, and the Wagner Group stood down with promises of safety for its leaders. On Aug. 23, Putin killed them in cold blood. 

About the Author: 

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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