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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Nicholas Cecil

Wagner Group: Putin’s ‘private army’ has up to 50,000 troops fighting in Ukraine, say UK defence chiefs

Wagner United Kingdom Vladimir Putin Yevgeny Prigozhin Russia Bakhmut Kremlin SOLEDAR

The Wagner Group’s centre in Saint Petersburg

(Picture: REUTERS)

Vladimir Putin’s “private army” the Wagner Group now has up to 50,000 troops fighting in Ukraine, British defence chiefs said on Friday.

Military sources say the group is vying with the Russian regular army for supremacy in Putin’s chain of command.

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