Putin Pulling Out Battle-Hardened Men From Wagner Group In Africa For Ukraine: Report

As tension mounts on the Russia-Ukraine border, Kremlin is reportedly pulling out battle-hardened mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group from Central African Republic (CAR) for Ukraine.

The Wagner Group, called President Vladimir Putin's "private army," is a secret Russian mercenary organization accused of human rights abuses in the CAR and elsewhere.

An exclusive report by The Daily Beast, quoting two senior military officers in CAR, said Russia has evacuated unprecedented numbers of Wagner mercenaries from the country in January. More men will be leaving in the next few weeks for Eastern Europe.

"Usually when we hear that some have left we find out that they are just a handful—sometimes five or six people within a month," a CAR official was quoted by The Daily Beast. "It’s the first time we are hearing that dozens have departed in a month," he added.

The report also quoted a man, detained by the Wagner Group, who claimed he overheard CAR troops discussing the sudden evacuation of Wagner fighters to Ukraine.

The Wagner mercenaries arrived in CAR in 2017 to support CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in the fight against rebel forces. The European Union imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group last year following allegations of human rights violations against civilians, aid workers, and journalists.

However, this is the first time the Russians have left in large numbers since their arrival. The men are reportedly from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus and "are returning to where they came from."

"We have specifically been told by their supervisors that about 20 Russians departed this January for Eastern Europe. What we understand is that the Russians who’ve left, and those who will leave later on, are doing so as part of their assignment rotation policy and that they would be replaced in due course," the Daily Beast quoted another military official.

Earlier, the Daily Beast had reported about how Task Force Rusich, one of the notorious battalions of the secretive and deadly Wagner Group, revealed its plans to return undercover to Ukraine.

Two years ago, Belarus had announced that it arrested 33 fighters from the Wagner Group for trying to destabilize the country in the run-up to its Presidential elections. However, it later came to light that the arrest was in fact an elaborate sting conducted by Ukraine’s military intelligence service to nab men who allegedly committed serious crimes while fighting for Russia-supported military entities in Ukraine.

Though Moscow denies any links to Wagner Group, its connections with Kremlin are not a secret. According to Ukraine, Wagner personnel helped Russia seize Crimea and invade Eastern Ukraine.