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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Staff and agencies in Moscow

Russia’s Wagner Group opens defence tech centre in St Petersburg

Military figures outside entrance
After years shrouded in secrecy, Wagner has taken an increasingly public role in the country’s foreign policy and the invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty

Russia’s Wagner Group – the once-secretive private militia controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin – has opened a military technology centre in St Petersburg, in the latest move by the Putin ally who has criticised the Kremlin’s defence top brass over the Ukraine conflict.

The opening of the “Wagner Centre” on Friday is seen as another step by Prigozhin to publicise his military credentials and take a more public role in shaping Russia’s defence policy.

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