“It was clear from the outset that the Kremlin’s plan … was not only about Ukraine,” Stanisław Żaryn, spokesman for the Polish Minister-Special Services Coordinator, assessed, pointing out that Russia intends to destabilise and weaken the West.

Wagner Group head suspected of violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity

The commanding officer of the private mercenary company Wagner has been informed about being suspected of having violated the territorial integrity…

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As he added in his entry on social media, Vladimir Putin aims to permanently lower the security of the North Atlantic Pact’s (NATO) eastern flank.

For weeks, Russian troops have been concentrating on the border with Ukraine, raising serious concerns in Western countries whose leaders believe there is a risk of military action. Moscow claims that there are no such plans, while at the same time demanding from the US and NATO guarantees that the Alliance will not admit Ukraine and that its infrastructure will be moved “away from Russia’s borders.”

The leaders of the Kremlin-backed separatists in the Donbas announced the mobilisation and evacuation of civilians from their territories to Russia, referring to the alleged offensive in the Donbas planned by Ukraine. Kiev denies that it has led and planned any offensive actions in Donbas.

“Wagner Group can be crucial to Russia’s planned offensive”

According to Mr Żaryn, successive media have been recently reporting the presence of the so-called Wagner Group in the eastern parts of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia.

As he pointed out, the formation may play a major role in the context of Kremlin’s actions.

“Russia can use it for a provocation that will be used to invade Ukraine,” he explained.

“It is likely that Russian mercenaries, under the direction of the Russian state, will be involved in any hostilities in Ukraine, potentially including a pretext for an invasion,” a Western security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said earlier in February.

The Wagner Group is an unofficial name of a formation that, according to some media, took part in the armed struggles in Donbas, Syria and Libya. Media have linked the private military company with a Kremlin-affiliated businessman by the name of Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin. It is accused of violating human rights in all those areas.