Western intelligence: Wagner network recruits Europeans for sabotage in NATO countries
According to Western officials, after the failed coup in June 2023 and the death of the group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the status of the Wagner PMC remained uncertain. At the same time, part of its network remained intact and was assigned new tasks. Whereas previously recruiters attracted Russians to participate in the war against Ukraine, they are now targeting low-income and socially vulnerable Europeans, according to the FT.
According to the publication's sources, Russian military intelligence agencies GRU and FSB are actively using former Wagner representatives to search for so-called disposable agents in European countries. Due to the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats and the reduction of its network of career spies, Moscow is increasingly relying on intermediaries.
The tasks assigned to recruited individuals range from setting fire to politicians' cars and warehouses with aid for Ukraine to simulating the activities of neo-Nazi groups for the purpose of provocation. As a rule, such people agree to cooperate for money. Often, they are marginalised individuals without a clear social position or stable income.
According to European officials, Russian special services try to create at least two levels of intermediaries between themselves and the perpetrators in order to maintain the possibility of denying involvement. The Wagner network has a prepared infrastructure for this, including a developed online presence. The group's Telegram channels are described as well-designed and effective in influencing the audience.
The so-called troll factory in St. Petersburg, formerly controlled by Prigozhin, played a special role in shaping this ecosystem. For more than ten years, it spread disinformation among Western audiences.
One example is the case of 21-year-old British citizen Dylan Earl. In March 2024, he organised the arson of a warehouse in East London where aid for Ukraine was stored. The man was sentenced to 23 years in prison. According to the investigation, he was recruited through social media and later recruited four more people himself.
After this incident, European security services gradually uncovered a wider network of agents linked to former Wagner structures. At the same time, according to Western officials, although Russia wins in terms of scale and cheapness of using such contractors, it loses in terms of professionalism and secrecy. So far, most of the planned attacks have been prevented.
