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116Постсоветские исследования. Т.4. № 1 (2021) КОНФЛИКТНЫЙ ПОТЕНЦИАЛ
The Ukrainian experience of using private military campaigns
Konstantin P. Kurylev
RUDN University, Moscow Russia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-30 75-915X, [email protected]
Natalia V. Ivkina RUDN University, Moscow Russia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8654-7629, [email protected]
Abstract: Since early XXI century the number of private military companies in the world has grown to five hundred. The global market turnover in this industry has reached hundreds of billions of dollars. The popularity of mercenaries again became comparable to the times when they decided the outcome of entire military campaigns, as it was during the Middle Ages. Private military companies are non-governmental commercial organizations authorized by the state (or other customer) to solve military problems. Their field of activity is the protection, escort of people and cargo in the conditions of hostilities, and often participation in hostilities. PMCs can also provide consulting services and training. Sometimes, by mistake, any paramilitary entity is called a private military company. The main difference between PMCs and, for example, volunteer battalions (which operated en masse in Ukraine during the acute phase of the conflict in Donbass in 2014-2015) is that the purpose of the former is to extract commercial benefits. While volunteering, in theory, does not provide for the receipt of material benefits. At the same time, individual beneficiaries or their members receive illegal income, but they are associated, rather, with looting, racketeering or raiding, and not with classical mercenary activities. Within the framework of this study, the author reveals the key differences between PMCs and volunteer battalions, identifies fundamental differences in the methodology of their application and analyzes the effectiveness of their work during the acute phase of the conflict. The work uses the methodology of historical and political sciences - the historical-analytical method, the method of political analysis and the structural method.
Key words: The Ukraine, PMCs, Donbass, hostilities, politics.
Украинский опыт использования частных военных компаний
К. П. Курылев
Российский университет дружбы народов ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-30 75-915X, [email protected]
Н. В. Ивкина Российский университет дружбы народов ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8654-7629, [email protected]
Аннотация: С начала XXI в. количество частных военных компаний в мире выросло до пяти сотен. Оборот мирового рынка в этой отрасли достиг сотен миллиардов долларов. Популярность наемников вновь стала сопоставимой с временами, когда они решали исход целых военных кампаний, как это было во времена Средневековья. ЧВК - негосударственные коммерческие организации, уполномоченные государством (или иным заказчиком) на решение военных задач. Их сфера деятельности - охрана, сопровождение людей и грузов в условиях боевых действий, нередко участие в военных действиях. ЧВК могут предоставлять также консультационные услуги и обучение. Иногда, по ошибке, частными военными компаниями называют любое парамилитарное образование. Главное отличие ЧВК от, например, добровольческих батальонов (массово действовавших на Украине в период острой фазы кон-
фликта на Донбассе в 2014-2015 гг.) состоит в том, что целью первых является извлечение коммерческой выгоды. В то время как добровольческая деятельность, по идее, не предусматривает получения материальных благ. В тоже время, отдельные добробаты или их члены получают незаконные доходы, но они связаны, скорее, с мародерством, рэкетом либо рейдер-ством, а не с классическим наемничеством. В рамках настоящего исследования автор раскрывает ключевые отличия между ЧВК и добровольными батальонами, выявляет принципиальные различия в методологии их применения и анализирует эффективность их работы в период острой фазы конфликта. В работе использована методология исторической и политической наук - историко-аналитический метод, метод политанализа и структурный метод.
Ключевые слова: Украина, ЧВК,
Every year there is an increasing loss of the state's monopoly on the use of military force, which is one of the serious challenges to international security at the present stage. For many years, world states have relied on armed forces that have pursued a policy of military power. Their service was carried out by conscription or by contract. However, in the wars and military conflicts of the 21st century, an increasing role is played by non-state paramilitary groups. Today, along with the armed forces of states, private military, and security companies (private military companies) act as an equal subject. Their use has become a new stage in the development of methods of warfare. PMCs represent the structures authorized by states to solve specific tasks. Today PMCs provide defense and security services at times faster and cheaper in comparison with government agencies. This refers to the ability to quickly hire the necessary staff to perform operational tasks and thus increase contingents, regardless of the complexity of the conflict, its duration, etc. In this regard, such structures will play an increasing role in armed conflicts and wars, as their application allows states to realize their interests while remaining in the shadow, which is extremely important in the context of "hybrid wars."
In this context, a clear example of the activities of PMCs in their participation in the Ukrainian and Syrian crises. This testifies to the high relevance of the studied problems. The object of the research is the activity of PMCs at the present stage. The subject of the study are PMCs operating in Ukraine under crisis conditions.
Ukraine has traditionally been attractive to PMCs. So, Odessa, thanks to a successful geographical location and due to regional peculiarities, has become one of the largest trans-
Донбасс, боевые действия, политика.
shipment points for people wishing to go to war. In this regard, foreign PMCs have been active here until the opening of their own representative offices. However, even before the events of 2013-2014 Ukraine was interested in foreign contractors, mainly as a source of high-quality and relatively cheap personnel, then "EuroMaidan" and the flight of President Viktor Yanukovych, as well as the events that followed, allowed the PMC to enter the Ukrainian market in a new quality: contractors that fulfill specific orders like from a number of Ukrainian oligarchs, and from the central government in Kiev.
During the research from a methodological point of view, the authors used a typological method that allowed the classification of PMCs according to regional, national and financial principles. We also used the comparative method, which made it possible to compare the considered PMCs with each other. The use of the modelling method helped to identify the causal relationship between the political events that preceded the emergence of the Ukrainian crisis and the participation of PMCs on the side of certain interested forces.
It should be noted that the Russian historiography of the research problem is very poor, both in terms of directly studying the participation of PMCs in the events in Ukraine, and more broadly - the development of private military companies in the world. Fundamental works on this subject are practically nonexistent, there are separate articles, but more journalistic literature. Foreign historiography is richer in this respect, both from the point of view of monographs and articles [Kees 2011: 199-216]; [Brooks 1999]; [Mohlin 2014]; [Volevodz 2009]; [Konovalov, Valeckij 2013: 47]; [Kurylev, Stanis 2014:114-117].
The Ukrainian crisis.
November 21, 2013, in the center of Kiev, launched a massive multi-month protest. It began in response to the suspension by President Viktor Yanukovych of the signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. This action was supported by public speeches in other cities of Ukraine. These events, which eventually took the form of armed confrontation, accompanied by the death of people on both sides of the barricade, ultimately led to the withdrawal of power from the hands of the state and became at the disposal of the opposition forces on February 21, 2014.
Since then, the Ukrainian crisis has firmly taken leading positions among problems that directly affect European security and the whole system of international relations. This crisis was the most serious challenge to the security of Europe after the collapse and the civil war in Yugoslavia.
The crisis in Ukraine revealed deep contradictions in relations between Russia and the United States, which have ripened for many years and are caused by their competition in the post-Soviet space and different visions of the optimal world order and their place in it.
The Ukrainian crisis also actualized the themes of frozen conflicts in the post-Soviet space, demonstrating that the disintegration processes on the territory of the former USSR are still going on, the cumulative effect of its disintegration after 23 years overtook Ukraine.
For Ukraine itself, the events of late 2013 -early 2014. became turning points. The choice of new Ukrainian authorities in favor of the national identity project of statehood, as opposed to the previously rationally bureaucratic, led to the collapse of the former foreign policy concept and the approval of a new, alternative, in fact. The country, throughout the post-Soviet period, balancing between Russia and the West, changed the foreign policy vector and took the Euro-Atlantic course. The crisis that began in Ukraine, launched its geopolitical decomposition, and plunged the country into a sharp armed confrontation.
The Ukrainian crisis catalyzed the destructive processes accumulating for many years in the relations between Russia and Ukraine. Within the framework of these contradictions, Russia regards Ukraine as a sphere of its direct
influence and a necessary element for the successful development of the integration processes in Eurasia. The Ukrainian authorities are trying to formulate and build their own state project, seeing in Russia a brake on this.
Ukrainian PMCs.
PMCs appeared in Ukraine long before the outbreak of civil war in that country. However, interest in them arose precisely during the development of this crisis. We emphasize that Ukraine was one of the first countries to ratify the Montreux Document, which contains rules and regulations on private military and security companies operating in zones of armed conflict. In total, there are about 70 recommendations on regulating the activities of private contractors in the zones of military conflicts and monitoring compliance with international law1.
PMCs in Ukraine should be divided into two groups. The first group is PMCs, which can be called "Ukrainian", because they are registered in Ukraine, and their functionaries are mostly Ukrainians. The second group of PMCs includes companies that work in Ukraine but belong to foreigners and serve their interests.
Private security companies (CHOPs) began to emerge in Ukraine in the 1990s. They were the main backbone of the criminal who entered the law or the former state-party nomenclature. Private security eventually defeated the less organized and economically weaker forces of the simple gangster world. The natural victory was on the side of private security companies controlled by the highest oligarchy and bureaucracy, who in a matter of years dealt with "lawlessness" [Kurilev, Martynenko, Parkhitko, Stanis 2017: 130-149].
PMC began to emerge in Ukraine approximately from 2010. Among the largest Ukrainian companies can be identified group "Omega Consulting Group", "Artan Group", "Vegacy Strategic Services Ltd", "Albatross", etc.
Not far from Kiev, in Slavutych, is located PMC Omega Consulting Group. It was established in 2011 by A.Kebkallo and is an international specialized organization aimed at devel-
1 The Montreux Document on relevant international legal obligations and best practices of states relating to the operation of private military and security companies during an armed conflict. // https://www.icrc.org/rus/resources/documents/misc/ihl-montreau.htm (14.03.2018).
oping and improving the combat capability of the armed forces, the work of law enforcement agencies, state security agencies, combating international terrorism and slow conflicts. At the same time, Omega Consulting Group offers a wide range of personal security, defense of strategically important facilities, military goods and services, as well as cooperation with commercial and governmental organizations around the world. Its services are geared towards the widest, ever-changing world market represented by government agencies, the armed forces, corporations and individuals who need more effective protection of their assets. The company's activities are carried out in accordance with Ukrainian law, as well as with the legislation of those countries on the territory of which the company represents the interests of its Customers. On the territory of Ukraine, the company carries out its activities based on the Company's Charter and the Ministry of Internal Affairs license on security activities. The defense department of the company provides expert programs, consultations and other services to the Ukrainian government, representatives of foreign friendly states, as well as individuals, analyzing the range of their problems and preparing the most appropriate and expedient solution at the operational, tactical and strategic level. The company's employees have extensive experience in training government power structures and direct participation in hostilities in many hot spots of the world from South America and Africa to the Crimea and the South-East of Ukraine. In 2014, employees of the company "Omega Consulting Group" took part in the operations for the emergency withdrawal of the Customer's personnel from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Donbass. In the spring of 2014, the company opened a vacancy for a "consultant", which was planned to be closed by May 1, 2014. One of the requirements for candidates was the presence of the Donetsk, Kharkov or Lugansk registration. "Omega Consulting Group" is an honorary member of the League of Defense Enterprises of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry1.
Nikolaev campaign Vegacy Strategic Services Ltd or simply "Vega" was established in
2012 in Cyprus by veterans and former employees of special naval, army and police units of Ukraine, Russia and Greece. Vega is an international corporation that offers a wide range of specialized services aimed primarily at identifying, localizing and preventing potential security threats to individuals and infrastructures in high-risk regions. It has its official representative offices in Ukraine, Malta and Panama and official agents in Greece, Russia, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Madagascar and many other countries of Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Black and Mediterranean Seas2
The Odessa firm "Albatross"3 specializes in protecting sea vessels from piracy. According to the available data, PMC works abroad, ensuring the safety of maritime transport of foreign shipowners. Official information is very scarce.
Another PMC group of companies "Artan Group" - a powerful structure that protects a variety of objects, involved in military operations, training of bodyguards, protection of sea vessels. It was established in 2005 and includes enterprises and organizations working in the field of security and protection for more than 10 years. The group of companies "Artan Group" is organized with the purpose of uniting the efforts of security specialists, for professional rendering of complex services to ensure the security of objects of different forms of ownership, movable and non-movable property, security and protection at sea, and protection of individuals. In 2010, the Artan Group includes the Turkish company BSK International Military and Special Security Co. Ltd., specializing in providing security services in regions with a high level of complexity. In 2011, the international company Furkan Defense Industry (FDI), Turkey, joins the Artan Group on a partnership basis, which in turn leads to the expansion of the markets for the activities of our companies. FDI has its own offices and offices in Ukraine. The campaign through offshore sells the Oplot and Bulat tanks, Grad installations and other weapons. Recently, the Turkish company began offering combat boats, and even ships "Hay-duk". Since 2012, Artan Group is a signatory of
Services
1 Omega Consulting Group // http://www.omega-
consulting.com.ua
2 Vegacy Strategic http://www.vegacyltd.com
3 Albatross // http://www.mscalbatross.com
Ltd
//
the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers. Since 2014 the company is a member of the Society for the Promotion of Defense of Ukraine. Among the objects guarded by the employees of the company "Artan Group", many belong to people from the environment of former President Viktor Yanukovych. "Artan groups" even received a letter from the Minister of Education of Ukraine S. Kvit, who is a member of the organization "Tryzub S. Bandera».
With the support of this "Artan Group"1 a frankly nationalist PMC "Templar" appeared, whose employees were seen in the punitive battalion "Aidar". "Templar" arose in the first months of the Ukrainian authorities held ATU. "Templar" cooperates with Ukrainian nationalists, various volunteer organizations of the right-wing radical ("Lvivska Brama"). Media support for the Templar is provided by Ukrainian nationalist Internet resources. The main activity of the Templar is military consulting. Implementation of planning, training of army units and civilians, retraining of officers and technical personnel, demining and services of military translators, etc. 2
Today there is no accurate data on whether Ukrainian PMCs directly participate in the ATO in the Southeast regions of Ukraine, whether they advise the government on any issues.
Western PMCs in Ukraine.
Turning to the experience of the activities of foreign PMCs in Ukraine. Since 1992, the branch of the largest number of PMCs - G4S -has started operating in the Ukrainian capital. The giant concern of English, Danish and American capital recruit's experts in the field of intelligence and military affairs around the world. The number of employees in this structure reaches 675 thousand people. This is more than the number of armies of most European countries. G4S owns armored vehicles, aviation, maritime transport, unmanned vehicles, various electronic warfare means, reconnaissance technologies. The company deals with a wide range of military and security services, which makes it independent, even in solving
1 Artan groups // http ://aUsecurity.info/npegnpHHTHa. html?view=srsbent& entid=7500&action=view
2 Templar http://private-military.company
military and political problems. Another giant of military business - PMC L3 - is engaged in organizing the security of mobile communications and information communications in Ukraine.
One of the oldest and most influential private military corporations, Leidos, also works in Ukraine and maintains links with activists of the "EuroMaidan" movement both in the diaspora and in Ukraine.
Do the data or other PMCs participate in military operations in the southeast of Ukraine? On this score, there are serious differences. The participation of American PMCs in the Ukrainian crisis was stated primarily by the media with the pro-Russian broadcasting sector.
Then it was about American PMCs Black-water and Gréystone. A video was posted on the Internet in which several people in strange military uniforms walked down the street in Donetsk in March 2014. People in the video pro-Russian sites hastened to rank as employees of the company Blackwater, which at that time had already ceased to exist, transformed into several other private military and security companies. This is most likely explained by the fact that the Blackwater brand is the most famous, as the company carried out several highprofile military operations against civilians and rebel forces in Iraq. Actions of Blackwater in Iraq are well known in Russia, so making a hint of the presence of this odious force in the conflict in Ukraine would be extremely tempting for Russian propaganda. Also, according to pro-Russian information sites and services, as well as from Internet resources supporting the unrecognized republics of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, information was received about the participation in the armed conflict of employees of Greystone, a subsidiary of Academi LLC. A short time on the site of the company posted an announcement about the availability of good work in Russia, in the spring of 2014 the announcement disappeared. Reliable information about the participation of this PMC in the conflict has not yet been revealed, although the rebel forces reported losses from this military company. A little later, from unofficial sources, information was received that 20 mercenaries were captured by the militia in the Slavyansk area. According to some reports, the captured
mercenaries were from Graystone, on others -already from another American PMC Academi (until 2010 known as Blackwater). Also, the websites that advocated for the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic reported on participation in the hostilities on the side of the ATO forces of the Polish PMC ASBS Othago (Analizy Systemowe Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz), which was also not confirmed.
We emphasize that there is no reliable information on the direct participation of personnel of foreign PMCs in combat operations. There are assumptions, hypotheses, suspicions. None of the foreign PMCs confirmed the fact of participation of their employees in the fighting in the Donbass. This is understandable since neither side of the conflict will admit its participation in it. The US government said that there are no US military in Ukraine. Following him, the Polish authorities did the same. Moreover, the Greystone management stated that its employees in Ukraine do not exist and were not [Kurilev, Martynenko, Parkhitko, Stanis 2017: 130-149].
Information on the participation of PMCs in hostilities in the east of the country has so far come only from unofficial sources referring to the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics. Firstly, we are talking about the data of the officials of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, who reported on the participation of foreign PMCs in the fighting in the Donbass. The peak of information activity about the presence of PMCs in Ukraine falls on March - June 2014, after the coup d'état and the beginning of pro-Russian speeches in the southeast of the country. The geography of PMC's presence at the first stage basically coincided with the geography of protest activity: Kharkov, Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk regions. In addition, the presence of PMC staff was noted in Kiev.
Let's say it again, today there is no reliable information about the direct participation of PMC employees in the Ukrainian conflict as combatants. With that, there is nothing strange. On the contrary, this is one of the important advantages of PMCs in front of state armies. PMCs can act as secretively as possible.
Nevertheless, according to some experts, the specialists of foreign private military companies can still take part in military operations
on the side of the Ukrainian army, but as advisers. This, however, no one particularly hides. The main tasks for the implementation of which the PMCs could be hired at this stage in the above-mentioned regions are training and coordination in the field of law enforcement officers, as well as special units. Objectives: the elimination of protest activities in these regions, the export and escort of individuals and personnel from the territories covered by the uprising. Similar tasks were previously performed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and some other regions by foreign companies DynCorp (USA), Academi (USA), Greystone Limited (USA), and Erinys (Great Britain). We can't say that the employees of these companies were involved in the implementation of these missions, but the experience of previous similar conflicts and the nature of incoming information allows us to speak of a high probability of the presence of these firms. It is also important to note that in mid-April 2014, when militia units in the southeast established control over the cities of Donbass, secretly CIA chief J. Brennan visited Kiev secretly. According to the information available at that time, one of the reasons for his visit was precisely the question of the "loss" of 20 American citizens in militia-controlled territories. It was assumed that the missing could be employees of one of the PMCs [Kurilev, Martynenko, Parkhitko, Stanis 2017: 130-149].
In the Dnepropetrovsk region, representatives of foreign PMCs operate within the framework of contracts concluded with I. Kolomoisky or with the enterprises belonging to him. It is not possible to establish exactly which PMCs and which tasks were contracted. According to some reports, it was about specialists from Academi and affiliated with her Greystone Limited. In addition, it can be assumed that the main functions of the invited employees are: training of personnel from so-called the "Kolomoisky detachments", organization of the security and personal guards, information and analytical work.
The next period, in which a certain activity of foreign PMCs in Ukraine was fixed is May-August 2014. This is the period of active fighting in the Donbas in 2014. It is very likely that the employees of foreign companies prepared and coordinated actions during several
n0CTC0BeTCKHe HCcnegoBaHHa. T.4. № 1 (2021)
military operations during the summer APU campaign. Thus, the company belonging to the Polish politician, the former deputy of the Seim, E. Zevulsky, was involved in the preparation of the operation for encircling and conducting a police mission in the regions of Slavyansk. And although his firm is not a PMC in the strict sense of the word, it is not registered in the relevant international registry, the list of services it provides allows you to refer it to PMCs. The presence of other PMCs from Poland is not fixed. At the same time, data on killed foreigners regularly come from the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. In open sources, you can find data on losses of foreign PMCs in Ukraine: ASBS Othago (Poland) - 144 people; Graystone (USA) - 60 people; Academi (USA) - 130 people. Information about the killed foreigners is regularly received from the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. However, it is not possible to establish their status, but the probability that these are PMC employees is not high: the nature of the functions performed by these companies most often does not involve direct participation in combat clashes.
September 2014 - January 2015 - the period after the conclusion of the first Minsk accords. At that time there was a decline in information activity related to PMCs in Ukraine. However, the nature of the Freedom Support Act in Ukraine adopted on December 12, 2014, suggests that if the provisions are implemented, PMCs from the United States will be actively involved, including for training, strategic planning, and military equipment supply and maintenance. Such functions are primarily able to be performed by US companies: MPRI (operations planning and strategy definition), Kel-log Brown & Root (rear and technical support, training in servicing the supplied equipment) [Kurilev, Martynenko, Parkhitko, Stanis 2017: 130-149].
At the end of December 2014, the press leaked information about a possible contract of the Ukrainian side with one of the PMC, which from January 2015 will begin preparing the battalion of APU to conduct military operations in urban conditions. At the same time, the place where training is planned will be indicated: Ya-voriv Training Center of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine (Lviv Region). At the end of February 2015, this information was confirmed with the publication by the group of "CyberBerkut" documents relating to the contacts of Kiev with the American PMC Green Group. The main attention was paid to the information about the attempts of the USA to obtain consent from its European allies in the matter of the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, the published documents testified that the American side has made progress in the preparation of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, special services, supply chain. The work is conducted on a wide range of issues: communication, strategic planning, border control, cy-bersecurity, logistics, sniper training, improvement of military legislation, and creation of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine. All this happens with the introduction of the C4ISR1 concept. It is used by NATO countries and suggests the need for a close relationship between all the elements involved in the battlefield. It is important to note that the concept of military-civil cooperation, which has been developed in the Alliance since the wars in the Balkans, is also planned for implementation.
Russian PMCs in Ukraine.
As for the activities of Russian PMCs in Ukraine in the conditions of civil war, we note that foreign historiography in this direction is more saturated than Russian. While in both cases the authors most often rely on indirect signs and therefore a very fragile and narrow source base.
In the context of the Ukrainian crisis and the activities of private military companies from Russia, they first spoke after the publication of the St. Petersburg Internet newspaper Fontanka.ru in 2015. It was a structure that is known today as the "PMC of Wagner." According to the journalist Fontanki.Ru, D. Korotkov, the nucleus of the future "Wagner PMC" was formed in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic in the autumn of 2013. Then V. Gusev and E. Sidorov, Russian managers of PMC Moran Security Group, specialized in protecting merchant ships from marine pirates, registered in the HRC "Slavic Corps" in Hong Kong and formed a detachment of 267 "contractors" for the protection of deposits and oil pipelines in
1 Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Syria. Instead, the employees of the Slavic Corps took part in the civil war in that country. After several battles, the Slavic Corps returned to Russia, where its employees and owners were arrested on charges of mercenaryism. One of the employees hired in the "Slavic Corps" was D.V. Utkin, who served until 2013 as commander of the 700th separate special task force of the 2nd separate special task brigade of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and who at that time was a lieutenant-colonel. Six months later many of the employees of the "Slavic Corps" who returned from Syria met in the Crimea and as "courteous people" took part in the disarmament of the Ukrainian military bases. A year later, a previously unknown, well-armed and equipped unit, the "Wagner Group", appeared in the South-East of Ukraine. It is believed that the group has provided significant assistance in organizing armed resistance to the Ukrainian authorities in the Donbas.
For a long time, D.V. Utkin and his structure were a kind of "urban legend", in which few believed. However, everything changed on December 9, 2016, when Russian viewers could see D.V. Utkin on the staff of the official shooting of the presidential reception in honor of the Heroes of the Fatherland. Then the press secretary V.V. Putin responded to a question from journalists that he didn't know if Utkin was or wasn't at the reception, he should clarify. The verification took two days. The words of D. Peskov are given by TASS: "Dmitry Utkin really was, the Chevalier of the Orders of Courage, he was from the Novgorod region". D. Peskov also said that D.V. Utkin was invited to the Kremlin, "because the Heroes of Russia and the Knights of the Orders of Courage were invited." The Kremlin spokesman couldn't answer the question about "whether Utkin's fighters are in Syria". "We don't know if he has any fighters, whether they are in Syria and whether they have any status. Fighters are in the Ministry of Defense, "he said. Journalists also asked why Utkin received the appropriate award. "This can't talk about this. For courage is usually given, "- said the spokesman.
Despite such a confession, the situation with the "Wagner PMC" wasn't clearer anyway.
Journalists continue to build their guesses and offer different versions. Both are beyond the scope of academic research. We can neither confirm nor disprove such subjects. Our research is based on open information, there is no conclusive proof of the participation of "WWC's PMCs" in the events in Ukraine, and therefore, in order not to mislead the reader, we will leave this topic to future researchers.
To sum up. After the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych's power, Ukraine became the arena of a hidden confrontation between Western states on the one hand, and Russia on the other. One of the most important tools used by the US and its allies in this conflict is precisely the PMC. An analysis of open sources suggests that starting from February-March 2014, PMCs from several countries, primarily from the USA, Poland and the United Kingdom, operated on the territory of Ukraine under contracts with the central Kyiv government, as well as with private individuals and structures. They performed several functions: operational and strategic planning, training of command and personnel, protection of individuals and individual objects. There is no reliable information about the direct participation of PMC staff in military operations.
PMC isn't an army, and, as you can see, tracking their activities is much more difficult. We showed only the tip of the iceberg. While you are reading this text, employees of these organizations carry out someone's orders. And perhaps, only after years, we will find out what was the true role of these or those "mercenaries" in the Ukrainian crisis.
Probably, the trend of using PMSCs will continue in the future, and the private military business will be further spread in the world, flexibly and mobility reacting to the demand from various customers, primarily the states. There is no doubt that the number of sub-categories of the types of services that PMCs will fulfil will increase.
But already today, given the significant presence of these companies in the world politics, it becomes clear that the "privatization of power" is only gaining momentum.
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ИНФОРМАЦИЯ ОБ АВТОРЕ / INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Курылев Константин Петрович, д.и.н., профессор кафедры теории и истории международных отношений РУДН, директор Центра исследований постсоветских стран (ЦИПС).
Ивкина Наталья Викторовна, к.и.н., старший преподаватель кафедры теории и истории международных отношений РУДН.
Konstantin P. Kurylev, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Theory and History of IR of the RUDN University, Director of the Center for Studies of PostSoviet Countries (CSPSC).
Natalia V. Ivkina, PhD in History, senior teacher of the Department of Theory and History of IR of the RUDN University.
