The Wagner Group is a private military company that has been accused of working for the Russian government to conduct combat operations.
The group, founded in 2014, has been sanctioned by the EU for alleged human rights abuse and is believed to have been sent to Ukraine from the Kremlin to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to The Times, more than 400 Russian mercenaries are operating in Kyiv with orders to assassinate Zelensky.
It has also been accused of working for Russia to conduct operations in other parts of the world, such as Libya, Syria, Mozambique, Mali, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Wagner fought with the Russian military and the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria from October 2015 to 2018.
A former Russian lieutenant Dmitry Utkin, who served in the Russian Federation's main intelligence agency, GRU, is thought to be the group's founder.
A Bloomberg report in 2017 estimated that the group has as many as 6,000 mercenaries.
Officially the Wagner Group is privately owned, but its management and operations are said to be "deeply intertwined" with Russian military and intelligence, according to the American Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
A separate report in 2020 by CSIS explained that private security and military companies were in high demand after the Cold War.
The group, which could be seen as 'freelance soldiers', saw the EU impose sanctions on eight individuals and three entities for alleged human rights abuses in the Central African Republic.
The EU said: "Wagner Group has recruited, trained and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law."
The group was accused of torture, arbitrary executions and killings, and "destabilising activities" in regions like Donbas in Ukraine.
Since their arrival in Ukraine, the Wagner Group have been linked to a string of murders, rapes, robberies and alleged war crimes.
They are believed to have a list of 23 targets, which includes the entire Ukrainian cabinet, mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir, both of whom are boxing champions who have become iconic figures on the front lines along with the president but are yet to carry out any of the alleged assassination orders.
