Following the rebellion, Wagner was de jure dissolved in Russia and many of its fighters were forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. The de facto remnants of the group relocated to Belarus and set up new bases just north of the border with Ukraine.[14] Not long afterwards, the 2023 Niger coup d'état allowed a military junta to seize power in Niger. The new government allowed Wagner to establish a presence.[15] A month later, Prigozhin and Utkin were presumed dead in the 2023 Tver plane crash.[16]
After Prigozhin's death, his son Pavel Prigozhin became the new leader of the group.[17] Wagner forces began returning to the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[18] although many of the group's previous activities in Ukraine had been mostly taken over by Redut. Wagner also joined the 2023 Israel–Hamas war on the side of Hezbollah.[19]
Leadership
Prigozhin (left) and Utkin (right)
The Wagner Group started in 2014 when Russia took over Crimea.[20] Until 2022, it wasn't clear who started and ran the group. Dmitry Utkin and Yevgeny Prigozhin were both named as founders and leaders. During Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Prigozhin said he started Wagner and was its head. Some sources say Prigozhin paid for it, while Utkin led its military side.[21]
Yevgeny Prigozhin
People talked a lot about Prigozhin being connected to Wagner and Utkin.[22][23] He was called "Putin's chef" because he cooked for Putin. He was thought to give the most money and really own Wagner. He said he wasn't connected to Wagner and even sued some news sources for saying he was. In 2022, he said he started the group and called it the Wagner Battalion. He became the face of Wagner, but he wasn't in the military, so Utkin actually led the fighting.[24]
Dmitry Utkin
Utkin was in the Russian military before Wagner. He was a commander in special forces and fought in wars. Many say he founded Wagner and led it at first. Some say he named the group after his fake name "Wagner." The European Union put sanctions on Wagner and said Utkin was the leader. He was in charge of the fighting part, while Prigozhin owned it.[25]
Konstantin Pikalov
Pikalov was in charge of Wagner's work in Africa in 2019. He was in a special military unit in Russia before. After he retired, he ran a detective agency. He helped suppress opponents of a Russian-backed leader. He traveled near Ukraine a lot and was part of military actions there and in Syria.
