Kremlin remains aloof as Russians wounded in U.S. strikes return
Mercenaries hurt by the hundreds
Even as the Kremlin denies any official link to them, sources say that scores of Russian mercenaries wounded in U.S. strikes in Syria are being treated at Defense Ministry hospitals.
The wounded were brought to military hospitals in Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to two people in contact with them, after more than 200 fighters died in last week’s failed assault on a base held by U.S.-backed forces in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor region. The death toll is rising as some of the wounded succumb to their injuries, according to one of the people.
Russia’s denied any official involvement. There’s no “specific detailed information” on what happened, and while there may be Russian citizens in Syria, “they don’t belong to the Russian armed forces,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Wednesday.
The incident shines a light on a little-known weapon in the Kremlin’s hybrid-war arsenal. Mercenaries, who’ve been active in the conflicts in eastern Ukraine and Syria, allow Russia to deny official involvement in operations when things go wrong. Fighters involved in the Feb. 7 assault in Syria were linked to Wagner, two people familiar with the matter said, a shadowy private military contractor which has a training camp at a commando base in southern Russia.
The U.S. Treasury named Dmitry Utkin as Wagner’s leader last June as it sanctioned him for sending fighters to eastern Ukraine. Mr. Utkin was photographed next to President Vladimir Putin at a Kremlin reception in late 2016, held to honor him and others for their service to Russia, for which they have received state awards, according to Mr. Peskov.
Wagner is made up of detachments that may be controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman who’s been dubbed “Putin’s Cook” because his company provides catering services to the Kremlin, according to the Fontanka news service. Mr. Prigozhin, who’s denied any links to Wagner, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2016, which said he has “extensive business dealings” with the Russian Defense Ministry.
In what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former Cold War foes, the Deir Ezzor attack involved hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian mercenaries, who were fighting for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, according to the two Russians. The fighters had no air cover or mobile air defense to protect them during the fighting, they said.
A U.S. official put the death toll at 100, with 200 to 300 injured, but was unable to say how many were Russian. The Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent group that uses opensource information to track Russian military moves in Syria, says it has confirmed eight names of Russian mercenaries killed in last week’s airstrike.