From a Russian PMC fighter about the war in Syria. The defeat of the Wagner PMC by the Americans in Syria: details of the destruction of Russian mercenaries

According to reports, hundreds of Russian mercenaries were eliminated as a result of a US counterattack

An attempt to capture Khasham in the province of Deir ez-Zor on the night of February 7-8 by several Russian companies PMC Wagner and ended with their almost complete defeat.

This information has already been confirmed by many sources, and this moment the only question is the number of deaths resulting from the US counterattack.

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Khasham is under the control of the Syrian opposition, supported by American special forces.

According to available data, a column of Russian mercenaries, reinforced with armored vehicles and divisional artillery, advanced towards the city to take control of the oil plant.

However, when the Wagnerites were discovered, US special forces engaged them, calling in artillery and aircraft.

The exact number of Russian casualties is not yet known, however, according to available information, the number is in the hundreds.

At the same time, the Americans did not suffer any losses during the battle.

“Reports about losses during the defeat of the Wagner group come in very different ways. But there is one trend - they are constantly changing towards an increase. At the moment, it is clear that there are actually hundreds of dead and wounded. Several hundred,” the Russian terrorist said on his Facebook. Igor Girkin.

As it became known from the stories of the surviving mercenaries, they were first shelled by American artillery and aircraft for about four hours, after which ground forces entered the battle.

After a short clash, American special forces and Syrian opposition fighters retreated, and US helicopters began working on the Russians.

In addition, combat drones destroyed the divisional artillery of the Russian forces.

At the same time, according to Pentagon head James Mattis, when the United States notified the Russian Armed Forces about the start of the battle, they stated that they had nothing to do with it.

“They were notified when the shelling began. Then we were told that there were no Russians there,” he noted.

It is worth noting that Moscow officially denies the participation of its mercenaries in the Syrian conflict, and Damascus passes off the Wagner PMC as a “Syrian militia.”

Let us recall that with the help of the Wagner PMC, the Russian Ministry of Defense and also hides various kinds war crimes on the territory of other states.

The commander of the group, created from the remnants of the so-called Slavic Corps, is Dmitry Utkin, nicknamed Wagner.

On February 7, in Syria, in the province of Deir ez-Zor, a battle took place, as a result of which fighters of the Russian “Private Military Company Wagner” were killed. We have collected the latest information about what happened.

The battle became known on Friday, February 9, when the American television channel CBS, citing sources in the Pentagon, reported that in Syria, Russian mercenaries who tried to seize an oil field near the village of Hisham. On the same day o heavy losses"PMC Wagner" reported Igor Strelkov (Girkin), commander of pro-Russian separatists in Donbass in 2014. He did not provide any evidence or name sources. Audio recordings were distributed on social networks, which spoke of more than two hundred dead, but no confirmation of the authenticity of the recording or the authenticity of the information was provided.

Critics of reports mass death fighters of the Wagner PMC point to the appearance of fake videos of an alleged attack on the convoy and the fact that Igor Strelkov is critical of the participation of people who fought on the side of the pro-Russian separatists in the Syrian campaign.

Death toll

There is no official data on the losses of the Wagner PMC; all information is based either on reports from relatives and friends of the killed fighters, or on media information, which, as a rule, refers to unnamed sources.

On Monday, the names of the five victims became known:

Alexey Ladygin from Ryazan,

Vladimir Loginov from Kaliningrad,

Stanislav Matveev from the city of Asbest Sverdlovsk region,

Igor Kosoturov, Asbestos,

Kirill Ananyev.

About the first four wrote investigative group Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT). The latter was called "Mediazona".

Alexey Shikhov from Nizhny Novgorod(previously participated in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine),

Vladimir, call sign "Apostle", member patriotic organization"Triune Rus'"

Ruslan Gavrilov, Kedrovoye village, Sverdlovsk region.

The Znak publication spoke with Matveev’s widow; according to her, the relatives received the news of the death of Kosoturov and Matveev on February 9 from people with whom they fought in the so-called “LPR” in 2015–2016. As the woman said, her husband and at least 9 other people from Asbest and the village of Kedrovoye left for Rostov[-on-Don] in September, where “trainings” took place until October, and from there they went to Syria. (In the area of ​​Rostov-on-Don there is a base where fighters of the Wagner PMC train.)

Co-chairman of the Other Russia party Alexander Averin reported to Mediazona about the death of Kirill Ananyev. Ananyev, a former National Bolshevik, also fought in eastern Ukraine on the side of pro-Russian separatists before Syria.

• Novaya Gazeta reports, citing sources in Syria, that 13 Russians were killed, and “a dozen more were injured.”
• The already mentioned publication of “Znak” quotes the words of the ataman of the village of Svyato-Nikolskaya Oleg Surnin about the losses of the “Wagner PMC” (the conversation with whom took place in the office of the local branch of the Union of Afghan Veterans): “On the first day when this all happened, there was information about 30 The number of dead was already 217 as of the day before yesterday.”
• Bloomberg on Tuesday evening published the casualty figures, citing an unnamed US official and three Russians "with knowledge of the incident." Two Russian sources claim: at least 200 “contract soldiers” who fought on the side of the Assad regime were killed in the battle, most of them were Russians. The American spokesman says about 100 were killed and 200-300 wounded, but could not say how many of them were from Russia.
• Russian Ministry of Defense: “There are no Russian military personnel in this area of ​​the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor.” Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin does not have information about Russians who may be in Syria, except for military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces.

In Deiz ez-Zor, the Euphrates divides the positions of the warring parties. Pro-Assad forces are on the west bank, the opposition is on the east. On the evening of February 7, a detachment of pro-Assad forces, which included fighters from the Wagner PMC, tried to attack positions on the other side of the river.

David Ignatius, an international commentator and columnist for the Washington Post who was in Syria last week, blogged about the account of Hassan, one of the commanders of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who witnessed the battle on February 7. Hasan claims that on that day intelligence was received about an impending attack by pro-Assad forces on the headquarters of his forces, where American advisers were also located. And at 9:30 pm, about half an hour before the attack, he called the Russian liaison officer in Deir ez-Zor in the hope of preventing it. "We said that there was some movement and that we did not want to strike. [The Russians] did not accept our proposal and said that nothing was happening," Hassan told reporters through a translator.

The US military took similar measures, Ignatius notes, citing a Pentagon statement: "Coalition forces were in contact with the Russian side before, during and after the attack. Russian representatives assured that they were not involved in a clash with coalition forces in the area."

The attack began around 10 p.m., Hasan said, under cover of tanks and artillery fire. Among the attackers, he said, were Russians, presumably mercenaries. An airstrike was carried out against the attackers, killing, according to the Pentagon, more than 100 people. Hassan believes that there were Russians among them. According to him, during the airstrike, a Russian liaison officer contacted him again, asking for a pause to pick up the dead and wounded.

"TVNZ", citing an unnamed source in the Wagner PMC, confirms that the battle on the night of February 7-8 was: “Considering that the Kurdish formations had occupied a large oil plant on the left bank of the Euphrates without serious reasons, the command of the PMC decided to try to recapture it The hope was that, having seen the impressive forces, the Kurds would not resist and retreat. However, the American officers who were at the SDF positions had a different opinion. US representatives contacted the Russian side several times, and they confirmed that they were not fighting in the area. this area. After that, the Americans were not shy."

The newspaper quotes a direct speech from a “source in the PMC”: “They simply crushed us. First artillery, then helicopters... The dead, of course, were not 600 or 200. But American statistics are very close to reality. Surely they saw that we were preparing for assault on its bridgehead on the left bank... As a result, the 5th assault detachment was almost completely killed, burned along with its equipment.”

• Although Bloomberg calls the incident "possibly the deadliest clash between citizens of two states - former adversaries in cold war since its end,” the American representative emphasized that there was no talk of the possibility of a direct clash between the US and Russian militaries.
• The target of the attack by pro-Assad forces, including fighters from the Wagner PMC, according to many reports, was an oil facility under the control of Syrian opposition units. The publication Fontanka.ru claimed last year that a quarter of the gas and oil produced in the territory conquered for Bashar al-Assad could go to a company associated with Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, close to the Kremlin. At the same time, it was alleged that the businessman is connected with Wagner PMC. Prigogine denied this.

The story of secret Russian mercenaries.

Oleg served in Syria in a military unit that did not officially exist on paper, but which was known as the “Wagner Group” or “musicians”, fought on the side of the Syrian pro-government forces and was formed from experienced fighters by order of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Oleg took part in the battles for the liberation of Palmyra. His salary was 4,500 euros per month plus bonuses.
Russia started military operation in civil war-torn Syria just over a year ago - September 30, 2015. A lot has changed since then. If at that time the Assad house was on the brink of death, then after Russian intervention the loyalists managed to recapture Palmyra from Islamic State and win a crushing victory in Aleppo.

All these successes of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), which was pretty battered in the heat of war, would have been unthinkable without the support of Russia. It carries out air and missile strikes against government opponents, supplies weapons and trains some units.

Officially, the Russian contingent does not include fighters who do “dirty work” - people from the “Wagner Group”. Such a unit or private military company does not formally exist. But this is on paper. In reality, the Russians managed to fight in different parts of Syria both against the Islamic State and against the “greens” - various groups that are considered a moderate opposition in the West.

When asked why Oleg went to Syria, he replies: “I was a hired worker, and I don’t care about this war at all. I like this job, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t work there.”

Oleg is not worried that he might be called a hired killer: “That’s right, I went for the money. Maybe it’s simpler, in fact?” If you meet him on the street, you won’t recognize him as a soldier of fortune - Hollywood cliches don’t work. A regular guy. A cheerful fellow whose eyes well up with tears when he remembers his fallen comrades.

New Slavic Corps

"Wagner Group" is not an ordinary private military company. This is a miniature army. "We had full set: mortars, howitzers, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers,” explains Oleg.

In some circles, the unit's fighters are called musicians: supposedly the unit commander chose a call sign in honor of the German composer Richard Wagner. According to some reports, behind this call sign is 47-year-old reserve lieutenant colonel Dmitry Utkin. Served in special forces in Pechory. This is not the first time in Syria - before that he officially worked as part of a private military company known as the Slavic Corps.

The company was hired by Syrian tycoons to guard oil fields and convoys in Deir ez-Zor. However, in October 2013, in the city of Al-Sukhna, the guards found themselves in serious trouble: they entered into an unequal battle with the jihadists of the Islamic State. “The participants told me that there was an enchanting battle, almost a head-on battle for the city. With almost two thousand fighters against two hundred or three hundred guards,” says Oleg.

After these events, the contract between the customer and the guards broke down. According to Oleg, they did not agree on payment: the “Syrian bigwigs” refused to pay extra for more dangerous work and began to threaten the Russians. The "Slavic Corps" left Syria.

The Wagner Group has another, more serious customer - the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MOD). Before being transferred to Syria in the fall of 2015, the “musicians” underwent three months of training at the Molkino training ground in direct proximity to the base of a separate special forces brigade of the Main Intelligence Directorate.

The Wagner Group entered Syria by plane. And these were not Aeroflot airliners, Oleg says, smiling. The fighters were transported on transport aircraft of the 76th Airborne Division, which is stationed in the Pskov region.

"Pskov flights took us. From Molkino by bus to Moscow: we received international passports. From there to Chkalovsky, from Chkalovsky to Mozdok by plane. Two hours for refueling and servicing. And another five-hour flight: over the Caspian Sea, Iran, Iraq and landing on Turkey doesn’t let us through the Khmeimim base - it’s not possible directly,” explains the fighter. After arrival, they were accommodated in a sports complex in the city, which Oleg chose not to name.

Equipment, including artillery and tanks, was transported by sea using the so-called “Syrian Express” - on Russian Navy ships from Novorossiysk to Tartus. It is known from various sources that the group was sent to Syria twice: on short term in the fall of 2015 and to participate in a longer operation in the winter and spring of next year. Each trip is a separate contract.

As a rule, Wagner's men are experienced fighters who have gone through several conflicts. And although you won’t see recruitment advertisements in newspapers, the group had no problems recruiting specialists.

Oleg admits that he didn’t go to Wagner the first time - he didn’t trust: “Practically, they get in by acquaintance and that’s all. As such, there is no free recruitment. When recruiting, they carry out a couple of tests: for alcohol and drug use. Then there are physical tests. In fact, there are no exams ".

Among the Wagnerites there are quite a few who fought in the Donbass on the side of the separatists. They undergo additional polygraph testing. They may even ask if they are FSB agents - intelligence agencies are not welcome in Wagner. The group has its own security department that combats information leaks. Finding photographs of Russian condottieri on the Internet is a great success. This is an offense that entails serious sanctions for the offenders.

In Syria, fighters were paid 300,000 rubles (about 4,500 euros) per month plus bonuses. There was also a kind of insurance system: about 300,000 rubles for injury and coverage of treatment costs in high-quality clinics. For death - five million rubles to the family. Although from a legal point of view the contract with the Wagner group is an insignificant piece of paper, Oleg confirms: they paid everything to the last penny and even more. But there is no talk of complete safety.

That is, do you have at least some kind of protection?
- From what?
- From the state.
- From the state, I think not.

Passed through fierce hell

The civil war in Syria is merciless - the interests of many countries are intertwined here. Hundreds of factions with different motivations are fighting on both sides of the front, but none can be denied cruelty. Oleg prefers not to think about why Russia needs this stupid war. “I haven’t seen smart wars yet,” he retorts.

According to Oleg, a predominantly secular way of life reigns in government-controlled territories. A woman in a burqa is a rarity, although many wear a hijab. In the liberated areas of Latakia, the local population is more likely to support Assad.

“In Latakia, there are portraits of Assad and Hafez Assad, the president’s father, all around. And so the locals don’t show the relationship. This Civil War- you are either for it or against it. If you try to be neutral, then you will most likely feel bad,” Oleg describes.

The locals treat the Russians well, and they almost idolize the Syrian military. “We are Russians for them. You see, they are very glad that the Russians have arrived. Finally, they think, I can sit down and drink mate again, let the Russians fight,” Oleg says, smiling. “When we arrived in the same city, They danced there all night in the squares, shooting in the air with joy. But how upset they were later when we left!”

The once prosperous Murek was abandoned by the Syrians after the Russian “musicians” left. Years of war have depleted the Syrian Arab Army's manpower. Along with the disadvantage morale and military training, only certain units remain combat-ready: “Firstly, they have no training: they don’t even know how to shoot. Secondly, they have a terrible attitude towards weapons: they don’t even clean them.”

This is largely why, according to various sources, the Wagner Group was used as a fire brigade - it operated where it was most difficult and, with the exception of the operation near Palmyra, in small groups.

“We have always been where there was the most scum, the very hell. All I saw was the fiercest hell,” Oleg does not hide his disdain for the Syrian militias and military, who, according to him, are impossible to distinguish. “God forbid, have such allies. Because they always screw up the task."

In Latakia, due to the inaction of the Syrians, the “Wagner Group” suffered significant losses. Oleg retells the circumstances of that battle he heard from his colleagues with poorly concealed irritation. On that day, the Russians were supposed to cover the Syrian attack on the mountain and suppress enemy firing points on neighboring heights. After the end of the artillery preparation, the Syrians refused to attack. The Wagner group had to take over the work themselves. The ascent to the mountain passed without incident, but at the top point the Russians found themselves under fire from three sides.

“The mountain is completely bare. If you are not in the trench, it’s the end. The wounded appear, they need to be evacuated. How many people drop out? At least two are dragging, others are covering. The path along which the guys climbed was under fire - you can’t go. We had to go down the mined slope.” , says Oleg.

Wagner's fighters lost about twenty people wounded that day and not a single one killed.

The Russians tried to force the allies to attack by force - they jumped into their trenches and shot at their feet, but they did not budge. “And the Syrians did not stop firing at the heights. It turns out that they shot our people in the ass. It was hell,” Oleg complains.

According to him, in the fall the Wagner Group lost about 15 people killed. Half of them in one day: from the explosion of ammunition in a tent camp. What it was, Oleg does not know; there were versions about a mortar mine or an American bomb. In winter and spring, losses were greater, but he could not give exact figures.

This is not the only reason why Oleg does not like government forces. "They steal everything that is not nailed down. They drag everything: pipes, wiring, even tiles tore off. I saw how the toilet was stolen,” he explains. Oleg had not heard of punishments for looting among the Syrians.

Fought for Palmyra

However, Oleg does not have a high opinion of the “women” - this is the name given to the armed opposition, which is considered moderate in the West. According to him, under the concept of Free Syrian army one should understand hundreds of groups, including Islamist ones, that periodically fight each other for territory: “They need to eat something.” Although he admits: “Greens are different.”

“Turkomans are good guys. Good, I respect them. They fight desperately because they are fighting for their villages. If they leave the village, everyone leaves. They are completely different people. It would be beneficial for the Syrians to push them out of Latakia completely. In fact, this is ethnic cleansing,” - he states.

In 2016, the Wagner Group was united and transferred to Palmyra to fight the Islamic State. If in the fall there were about 600 mercenaries operating in Syria, then in the winter and spring their number doubled. “It was easier near Palmyra, because we were all herded into a heap and we carried out one integral task,” says Oleg.

According to him, there were no battles as such in the city. In difficult battles, the “Wagner group” occupied all the important heights, after which the jihadists simply left the devastated city: “There is a highway over the ridge. Ours brought out tanks and began to destroy everything that moved along it. They burned a bunch of cars. Then they went for trophies.” .

ISIS has proven itself to be a fanatical fighter, spreading terror among both Iraqis and Syrians. Oleg points out that Islamists from Europe probably fight well, but they have not encountered such people. “Blacks” are also different. They have local militias: the fighter has a machine gun and nothing else. This “black” guy doesn’t know how to fight either. There was a case. Observers reported that unknown people drove up in cars, formed a wedge and were coming towards us. They were covered with artillery, no one fired a machine gun - they put everyone down,” he recalls.

However, there are obvious advantages on the Islamists’ side: “They are very competent. Ours occupied the ridge, and they left Palmyra: they didn’t set up Stalingrad. Why is this necessary - they saved the people and moved away. And now they are constantly using small injections, constantly attacking the Syrians.”

Having completed the task, Wagner's group left the city. The laurels of the winners went to the Syrian troops, who had already entered the empty city. However, government troops did not retain the victory achieved by the Russians: on December 11, 2016, the Islamists recaptured Palmyra.

The fall of this city is eloquent confirmation that despite all the recent successes, the war is still far from over. Assad's supporters are not able to act everywhere - there are not enough forces and specialists. And not only at the front: the Wagner Group was also used to repair equipment.

“There is a huge armored tank factory in Hama. Before our guys arrived, the Syrians were repairing two tanks a month. When ours arrived, they immediately began producing 30 tanks a month. They worked from morning to evening: they, the poor ones, weren’t even allowed into the city. They worked like slaves - in the evening they all fell down without legs, but these repairmen remained there,” Oleg recalls, laughing.

The Wagner Group was withdrawn from Syria at the end of spring of this year. The last operation of the Russians was to clear the area around the airport near Palmyra. "Among the palm trees and the labyrinth stone fences", says the mercenary.

Since then, there have been no signs of Russian condottieri participating in this war. After the liberation of Palmyra, the Russian Ministry of Defense held a concert in the ancient amphitheater of the city. They played Prokofiev's music. It is quite possible that musicians may appear in this city again. Only these will be “musicians” with machine guns - a ghostly “Wagner group”.

Oleg is ready: “Of course I’ll go. At least I’ll go to Africa, Lord. It doesn’t matter where, I really like this work.”

Among themselves, they call Syria a “sandbox.” Because it's sand. Lots of sand. And the heat is plus fifty. They know: if something happens, no one will save them. And their bones will forever rot under this sun that burns everything around, and the jackals will complete the rest. The contract states: non-return of cargo-200 home. Too expensive.

Instead of a ringtone, Sergei’s phone has a cheerful ringtone:

“Our armored personnel carrier is all dented, but it’s still on the move, beating the damned ISIS fighters, knocking the spirit out of the bastards. Behind the plain there are mountains, across the mountains there is a pass, and behind it stands Palmyra, I have been with it all my life ... "

The ending is quite in the style of Shnur, so I won’t give it here.

Sergei is just over thirty, he is a former lawyer from Donetsk, but he has not worked in his specialty for four years because of the war. First, the one in Ukraine. Then here - in Syria. War without rules. So it is unlikely that he will need fancy legal terms: they will not save him in battle.

“The job is done, we only had a few hours to get ready, we helped break the shackles of the Syrian falcons. Let the tourists come - Damascus, Palmyra, it doesn’t matter. Money, women and wine await us at home” - bad Boys in the homemade songs of today’s “fortune hunters” they strive to seem even worse than they are.

I ask Sergei to let me listen to other hits of this Syrian war - he sends me Viktor Tsoi’s “Cuckoo” re-sung via messenger. The chorus is almost unchanged. “My palm turned into a fist...”

I can imagine what Sergei might look like in real life: short, wiry, in shabby green camouflage, wearing index finger right hand non-healing callus - from the trigger. And there is also a bruise on my shoulder - from a machine gun. But there are no rewards for mercenaries.

They don't give us awards. The Cossacks have titles, orders, they love that. But they don’t know how to fight. The guys ask one newcomer: “Do you even understand where you ended up?” He looks like a fool: “What’s wrong - you saw the Islamists’ car and threw a grenade at it.” Damn, I saw the car - get away from it quickly. She's carrying a ton of explosives.

Jihad mobile?

There are two types. Jihad Mobile and Inghimasi are suicide squads that first fight like ordinary soldiers, and when they run out of ammunition, they activate the suicide belt. They explode, dying and taking everyone nearby with them. These are Hiroshima and Nagasaki, how much TNT is hung on them! Their task, these abnormal fanatics, is to die on the battlefield. This is what they come for.

Our purpose of the trip is to earn money. No patriotism. True, the Cossacks come up with some beautiful fairy tales for themselves - for example, that they are going to study Orthodoxy in extreme conditions, Syria is the cradle of Christianity, but this is also an excuse. Mostly people come to earn money. It’s just that not everyone admits this openly and honestly. This is fine. We also went to earn money, not to kill. We, as recruiters, were told: you will protect communications, checkpoints, oil rigs, restore factories, and when you arrive at the site - both of you! - and to the assault battalion.

Have you signed a contract?

If you can call it that. Let's put it this way: I signed an agreement. There is a list of what we must do, there are responsibilities, but no rights. If you violate some clause, for example, drink on the front line, then you get money. The entire unit is fined. Although they drink little - in this heat. But vodka in Syria is good.

Where do recruiters find their potential “clients”?

Recruiters have been working in Donbass since '14. But in the first years few people left. Firstly, no one knew about Syria, and secondly, in the DPR they fought for an idea, for the salvation of the Russian world. This was then vulgarized by everyone. Now it’s unclear whether it’s peace or war. Many Russian volunteers returned home. The militia also dispersed. And what we can do is nothing but fight. If you serve in Donetsk now, you receive 15 thousand rubles. Here they offered me 150 thousand a month, plus combat pay, plus exit fees, and so on. I have a wife on maternity leave, two aged children, a son and a daughter, and my parents are old. I won’t earn that much in a year. Even if you imagine that they will cheat and pay less, it is still better than nothing.

Do they cheat often?

- Who will behave how? In general, there are two large private military companies on the market today - PMC “Wagner” of Dmitry Utkin and PMC “Turan”, a Muslim battalion. The very first was the “Slavic Corps”, but now it no longer exists. There are also subcontractors and intermediaries who also recruit people. They have nothing to do with official Russian military structures. How legal they are is also none of my business; In my opinion, they are registered through left-wing states, where they are registered and licensed - in South Africa, for example. I know that there were organizations that offered 240 thousand rubles a month, but in reality everyone gets about the same amount - 150.

I won’t say that they cheated anyone so badly: we have word of mouth, if they cheat today, no one will go tomorrow. We all revolve around the same people in this circle; everyone, in principle, knows everyone. When I was in the camp where I was being trained, they paid an additional 2–3 thousand daily allowances; in a month you can also raise a few bucks.

And not go anywhere at all?

Personally, I didn’t know anyone like that. But the preparation is so-so, to be honest. Shooting range, training ground, educational and material part... Among other things, they talk about the traditions of the Syrian people, such as so as not to accidentally break them... Personally, the knowledge of how to survive in the desert helped me: there are a lot of all sorts of creeping reptiles, so you take four pegs, drive them into sand, you tie them with a woolen thread in a square - not a single scorpion will crawl through this woolen thread. They feel them and are afraid for some reason.

How did you get to Syria - on a military plane? Civilian?

Charter. To Latakia. We had a legend that we were peaceful builders or something. There’s the sea, it’s warm, it’s nice, but they didn’t let us go for walks separately. Although many people ran out to swim a couple of times.

Did you disobey orders?

But what kind of order is there... You still don’t really understand who, for the most part, is going there. The Ministry of Defense will not sign a contract with a person with a tarnished biography. And we had people who had previously been convicted, and those who had not found work at home, were hanging around without money, former volunteers who came to military training in Rostov, militias, even ethnic Ukrainians, including those who fought against Donbass. Sometimes you see such a person in front of you and you just go crazy.

Nothing sacred?..

Not at all. Everything is fine. It's amazing how life can turn out. When the very first fighters were sent there, there was a strict selection, they say, even a competition. Now they are taking everyone. Personally, I saw an amputee, a man without an arm, he is a machine gunner by profession. How can he shoot?.. It seems to me that lately recruiters have been paying for the quantity recruited, and not for the quality. That's why there are so many stupid losses.

Those Cossacks whom ISIS executed were from May group. 150 people arrived then - in the first battle they received 19 “cargo-200”... It’s just that the numbers are hidden, a minimum of information leaks to the media about what is happening. Those who arrived last had such preparation that it was immediately clear: suicide bombers had arrived.

How much do relatives of the dead and wounded get paid? Is this in the contract?

Three million for the dead, 900 thousand for the injury. But in reality, we have such insurance that if you are wounded and you are not wearing a bulletproof vest or a helmet, they may not pay anything. And the armored vehicle with equipment weighs 18 kg. Who would carry him around in such heat?! They are also fined for this. But the relatives of those two whose heads were cut off, everything due payments They will definitely do it, because the press made a fuss.

They're heroes! They didn’t swear allegiance to ISIS (banned in Russia – E.K.)…

Don't make me swear. They were faint-hearted. Because normal boys would not have surrendered alive.

What a nightmare - with this cutting off heads!

Ours are also cut off. What if you drag everything you kill through the desert on your own? At first they paid 5,000 rubles for one head of an ISIS fighter. The guys dragged a whole bunch of them... Therefore, they lowered the price - we need to stop creating a nightmare for the local population - recently they paid like a thousand each. I’m definitely not interested, because I don’t do this myself.

And these were definitely Islamist fanatics, and not civilians?

I'm telling you, exactly. Syria is now divided into zones. Pink - Damascus, Latakia and surrounding areas. You can't touch anyone there. There is also a gray zone - back and forth, and the most terrible - black, where we stand. There are no peaceful people there. All enemies.

I don’t understand why it’s impossible to carry out airstrikes against these countless ISIS villages without using infantry, since there are such crazy human losses?

This is just very clear. Using infantry, soldiers, is much cheaper than using aviation. It's always been like that. Soldiers are meat.

In ancient times, the armies of all countries had rules: for the first three days, a city captured by troops is given over to the victors. Is there such a thing now?

I guess, yes. Everything you find in the liberated villages is yours. Only money is required. These fanatics have their own - gold dinars, silver dirhams, copper fals... Although they are made of pure gold, you cannot take them with you. They bear the symbols of ISIS - “Islamic State” (banned in Russia), their storage and distribution is equated to a criminal offense and support of terrorism. Who needs such a headache?..

And what after the fight? How do you relax? You are not an official army, which means you are not entitled to concerts of famous touring performers from Moscow?..

Yes, it can be boring. But you can buy a wife. A virgin from a good family costs 100 bucks. For a year. Kind of like kalyma. If you take it forever, it’s 1500–2000 dollars. It's easier to buy there than to search here. I know guys who straightened out documents for such brides and then took them with them to Russia. In general, women help a lot in war - at least by brightening up our life. But basically only officers can afford them.

Are they fed well?

They feed you like they're being slaughtered. But there is tension with water. There is technical and drinking water. But you can’t drink the technical stuff. And there is not enough drinking water.

How about weapons?

That's the problem with weapons. The equipment is old, worn out, shaggy... They also issue Chinese machine guns. It is clear that people chip in and buy weapons themselves - they want to live, and since they don’t have much cash, many spend so-called cigarette money on this: about 100–200 dollars a month.

Are salaries transferred to the card?

As you wish. Usually on a card to your wife or someone you tell, yes.

After death, are relatives also subject to a non-disclosure agreement?

In fact yes. They are warned that it is better not to exaggerate this topic if they want to be paid for everything. In the end, the man went there voluntarily, no one forced him. It is clear that no one will drag his corpse back to his homeland, because it is expensive, and there is no particular point. But the three million that would be given for a murdered person will only be earned by a living person in two years...

Do you consider yourself a mercenary?

No. I was put in such conditions. In the Donbass, in service from the very beginning of hostilities and almost until the very end. I had beliefs. And I personally know those who would never agree to die for money - only for the Motherland and the idea. But gradually there was nothing left of the ideas, and the war turned into business as usual. To ordinary people you also have to adapt. But I didn’t betray myself.

And who was betrayed?

There was a case. Our guys caught fire alive. It happened. And they burned for a long time. It was scary to watch them suffer. It was necessary to shoot them, and it would have been merciful, but I couldn’t... Probably, this can be considered a betrayal.

Do you believe in God?

- Don't know. I guess I believe in something. For good, for bad. Don't know. I only know that killing is wrong. And I do not like it.

Simple accounting

One of the leaders of a private military company gave us a comment on condition of anonymity.

“I believe that in essence there is no criminal offense here. Yes, all PMC participants have an article hanging over them - participation in illegal armed groups, or even leadership of an illegal armed group, up to 20 years in prison, but let's think about the fact that now a new type of war is being waged all over the world. Let us recall the experience of the same Americans; all their operations in Iraq or Afghanistan are mainly carried out by PMCs. The French Foreign Legion is generally supported by the government. So it’s stupid to pretend to be naive young ladies and say that we shouldn’t have this because it’s bad.

This is business. We won’t take over the market; others will take our place. But for now, Russian PMCs are beginning to gradually squeeze out Western ones: because ours are undemanding and take on everything, yes, they can be deceived. But deception is also a life experience.

According to the rates, we get about 5 thousand dollars per person per month. According to the contract, you pay 2000 plus 500 for related expenses. What remains is the net profit - 2500, multiplied by the number of fighters.

“The Syrians and ours decided to seize the plant from the Kurds in the American work area”

The media is full of reports about soldiers of the private military company (PMC) Wagner killed by the Americans in Syria. At the same time, the numbers cited are very diverse. We contacted those related to Wagner PMC to clarify the circumstances of what happened.

Our first interlocutor, one of the field commanders in the Donbass, said about the total losses of the column, the majority of which were Syrians: “According to my information, there were over a hundred of them.” He told MK that only two of his former fighters were among the dead. "Two. They left for Syria back in 2015. When everything calmed down here. No, I wouldn’t say just because of the money. They believed that they were going to defend the Russian world on the outskirts of our sphere of influence. So write: died for their homeland and for the idea.”

Another of our sources, located directly in Syria, explained:

The Syrians and ours decided to seize the plant from the Kurds in the American work area. There were three companies of private soldiers and a Syrian militia. The first line of Kurds and Americans was demolished quite quickly, even too easily. Then aircraft, drones and helicopters arrived, and they were hammered for four hours. (According to another version, the shot column counterattacked fighters of ISIS banned in Russia, who began to retreat towards the CONOCO oil refinery, where a secret US base was allegedly located at the same time - "MK").

The source named the total figure at 40 dead and 72 wounded (meaning, again, mostly Syrians).

“I don’t understand what they were counting on,” he wondered, “they attacked the Americans with only Kalash rifles.” But this was a purely commercial topic. It has nothing to do with the war...

Help "MK": what is the CONOCO plant

"An oil refinery located in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor near a large oil and gas field. The CONOCO field was once discovered by the Americans, and it was with their funds that a plant was built there (it was also called “El-Isba”). The plant was nationalized by the regime Bashar al-Assad.

Then it was under the control of ISIS, banned in Russia, and in September last year it was recaptured by the Kurds. In October, according to some reports, after negotiations with the Kurdish side through the mediation of Russia, the plant was transferred to the control of the Syrian government. Russian commercial structures took part in the restoration of the plant. However, then the situation changed: control of the plant again passed to the Kurds, who allowed the Americans into it. It was reported that the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes, in particular, Kurdish units) were not invited to the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi - Turkey objected to this. Now the SDF is targeting the Americans."

Syrian television released a story about losses during coalition air operations. Among the dead were a Syrian brigadier general named Yusuf Aisha Haider and several other high-ranking military officials. The Syrians talked about hundreds of killed and wounded, without, however, mentioning the PMC in any way.

So far, several names of dead combatants from Russia have been named - Alexey Ladygin from Ryazan, Stanislav Matveev and Igor Kosoturov from the city of Asbest in the Sverdlovsk region, Vladimir Loginov from Kaliningrad. Former National Bolshevik Kirill Ananyev, who fought in Donbass before Syria, also died.

Since there is still no information about hundreds of corpses among the PMC mercenaries, many experts agree that there are really only a few dead among them. The remaining numerous victims are Syrians, who, according to some sources, were part of the ISIS HUNTER group (“Hunters for ISIS”). This special unit is mostly made up of Syrian Christians. They mainly specialize in protecting and guarding government facilities in desert areas of the country. However, now they are being used to liberate gas and oil fields, as well as to protect ammunition depots. Several dozen funerals of fallen ISIS Hunter fighters took place in the city of Al-Sukailabiyah, and there are also photographs from the cemetery...

There is still no law on private military companies in Russia; everything they do is at their own peril and risk. They are usually hired by government agencies, and a business contract is concluded with them. The first combatants may have been mistaken in the fact that they were going to the Middle East specifically to fight. “My contract, for example, stated that I was going to guard communications and oil rigs. And right away I ended up in an assault battalion,” one of the mercenaries told MK. Now there are no illusions - they go to fight and, if anything, die, and that’s what they get paid for. This special unit is mostly made up of Syrian Christians. They mainly specialize in protecting and guarding government facilities in desert areas of the country. However, now they are being used to liberate gas and oil fields, as well as to protect ammunition depots.

The average salary of a mercenary is from 150,000 to 200,000 rubles per month. It depends on which organization he was hired through - the more intermediaries and PMC subcontractors, the lower the prices. But in principle, no one is deceived - there is a strong word of mouth among the mercenaries, everyone knows each other at least through someone, and if they deceive one, then no one else will go.

During your stay in the training camp near Rostov-on-Don, you are also given lifting allowances - 2-3 thousand rubles per day. Our Russians and Ukrainians from Donbass are considered a good acquisition for PMCs, since “they don’t ask for much and usually serve conscientiously.”