‘These guys are really notorious’: CNN military analyst on Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine

CNN's Don Lemon and Col. Cedric Leighton (Ret.) discuss reports that the Wagner Group — made up of soldiers hired by Russia — is now expected to be deployed in eastern Ukraine. #CNN #News

98 comments

  1. Mercenaries such as the Wagner group are not lawful combatants and as such are not covered the rules of war.
    Summarily executing them as the war criminals they are is a perfectly valid action.

    1. @YoBroDontShoot no they absolutely don’t. Just because they fighting for Ukraine does not make them morally better. Let’s call a spade a spade, the only reason Azov exists, is that Ukraine is desperate for manpower, that’s it. There is no such thing as a good Nazi.

    2. @Helen R I don’t condone this war or any other. Neither Putin nor Zelensky and his masters are innocent here . If only it were that simply but it’s not. Geopolitics being played out on a massive scale with the likes we have not seen since the Cold War and you are naïve if you think it’s just a power hungry war mongering Putin that has caused all this mayhem and destruction. No war ever starts without politics playing a hand in it and nothing in politics just happens. It’s created . The truth always comes out , history gives us that. It’s up to you to attain the ability to see this truth. Nobody can make you see what you don’t want to see or are not able to see. We live in an age where nothing is as it seems on the surface , never mind the many layers beneath the surface and this war has many of them . When you put your heart and ego aside you way just get to see a glimpse of the truth. Are you ready for this truth because most people are not. They prefer to remain blind and pick a villain and a victim and choose a side and shout from the sidelines with conviction and disdain.

    3. Yeah just like Black Waters were executed in Iraq (burnt alive) in Afghanistan (be headed) in Syria (blown beyond recognition by Russian airforce) and even today in Ukraine the legacy continues being blown by Russian cruise missiles 😂

    1. Off with their heads and mount them on sticks lining the streets. Show what happens to all who come to Ukraine to fight. Death awaits.

  2. For the Wagners, NATO needs to make public that Putin will be responsible for their atrocities, as well as treating the group themselves as NONCombatants. This allows NATO to hold them indefinitely.

    1. @shah 101 In late January 2019, Wagner PMCs arrived in Venezuela during the presidential crisis that was unfolding. They were sent to provide security for President Nicolás Maduro who was facing U.S.-backed opposition protests as part of the socioeconomic and political crisis that had been gripping the country since 2010….https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group#Venezuela….it is still a Russian employed mercenary group originated in Ukraine fighting in Ukraine for the punishers as you put it

    2. @shah 101 I did not say those living in Donbas and fighting for what they feel is their home (independent country) were mercenaries.

  3. What options does Putin have?
    Well you know a samurai would fall on his own sword, Slobodan Praljak drank poison, Hitler got gasoline and probably a pistol. Really there are many options, but of course he could let people choose it for him, you won’t know for sure what you’re gonna get, but it would probably be anticlimactic, like the Romanov.

    1. @paimon Exactly, they are living long lives despite killing brown kids. But I guess I’m supposed to only be mad when Russia kills whites?

  4. Wagner merc’s git absolutely smashed by US troops in a massive battle in Syria. They left 200 bodies on the battlefield. The US suffered one wounded. The Ukrainians will tear them apart as well.

    1. @Bye Felicia ??? is that what the russian bots told you :D. My friend, when a army cannot supply its own troop, it’s a paper tiger. So… remember the 30 miles convoy. Where are they now? I mean, 30 miles convoy is a lot of money. Each tank costs around 7 – 10 millions, each armor vehicles cost roughly the same, all smart ammunition cost 2 millions a piece. Wonder why russia stopped using smart weapon and resort to “dumb” bombs? 😀 So that 30 miles convoy is almost the entire northern flank in cost. The southern flank got some success and putin fanboys are fantasizing about its glorious parade 😀

    2. Support for Russia from Southern Europe! I don’t support ukro neo-nazis and murican imperialism!

    3. @Bye Felicia Russia will TAKE a lot more than Ukraine? The internet will still be here in thirty years. How long will Russia fight? They were in Afghanistan for ten years before packing it in. How do they feel, now that the US was there twenty years?Is the loss of seven generals not enough? At least two Lieutenant colonels, several commanders, Guards, (snipers from around the world) and fifteen thousand soldiers? They spoke to XI, but he is busy with Covid pandemic. International travel is already locked down. Does Russia really need to give their soldiers a fourth Covid booster shot? I am glad for Spring. Many Russians have suffered from frostbite. The tanks are exploding in flames from switchblade bombs as they penetrate armor.
      Russian property is being seized for debt and legal action
      as sanctions are approved. It is helpful to see internet videos, and the evident panic of Russia.
      Most Russians are not seeing them. All these years they had no idea that Russia wanted Ukraine so badly, and Ukraine 🇺🇦 has no interest in being part of Russia’s war-mongering greed.

  5. Oh gimme a break! These guys aren’t supermen. Where did they gain this notoriety, fighting against folks who could barely defend themselves? Last time they ran into a few folks who could defend themselves, they withdrew, leaving hundreds dead behind.

    1. @tokenjoy What does Trump has to do with it? He doesn’t train or set standard operating procedures in defense or military offensive either.

    2. Their in-the-bag solution: “withdraw.” Seems these “scary face” mercenaries all want us to think they were first published as villains in a Superman Comic. But the fact that they couldn’t keep themselves in the Services, is NOT a recommendation…

  6. That’s some plane wow

    And Putin bringing in mercenaries
    It shows his desperation actually
    The UKRAINIAN forces are incredible fighters , so much respect to them

    #SlavaUkraine

  7. Just let me remind everyone that the Ukrainian military knows the Wagner mercs very well since the fall of Crimea, and how they spend the last nine years preparing for merc forces. And to add, Wagner was humiliated and wiped out by U.S marines( Not special forces groups) and Kurdish soldiers in 2016 and 2017.

    1. Wagner mercs got slaughtered in Syria! War criminals like the Serbs in Kosovo…they can only kill civilians.

  8. I had to laugh at his comment that the mercenaries don’t follow the rules of war. As if Russia does. Perhaps the greatest tragedy in modern human history is to discuss an unfolding tragedy instead of rescue innocent people from it.

    1. @John Smith Apparently we are 21st century civilised people and we are supposed to be outraged by the atrocities of the “other”- the menacing horde of the East marching on the civilised Christiandom.

    2. @John Smith I hear you and yes, I agree with everything you said regarding seige warfare.

      Watching war in realtime with DJI drones in surely makes this war more palpable as compared to any previous battle in history … but I can’t help but yearn for a better world … where men like Putin have no standing on the national stage. I want to see civilized nations rise up not with words but force and put down a modern-day hitler.

      Putin has long called Ukrainians “little russians” – and nothing has been more clear that Putin is a little human. His dictator is paranoia and his prison will be the constant fear of retribution the remainder of his profoundly lonley life.

  9. The Wagner group called after the nickname of their creator consists mainly of guys from the poorest parts of Russia, and are said to be paid 2000-3000 $/month. They are also said to be ruthless, but not necessarily super efficient. A small group of US Special Forces made mash potatoes from a 10 times bigger bunch of Wagnerians. They are also known as the infamous “little green men” without insignia’s that occupied the Crime without really having to fight. While the Azov militia is an official part of the Ukrainian armed forces, the WG are mercenaries, that can do dirty jobs for Moscow, while Putin can say stonefaced that no Russian armed forces are involved. Which is technically correct, but not in the facts.

    1. *Poor Americans parroting like their pathological liars from politicians to media. Wagner group is NOT financed by Moscow. Moscow only provides them arms and ammunition, unlike American Black Waters that is supported by CIA by all means..but still BlackWaters got their @$$ wiped (Americans) in Libya, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. In Syria it was so sever that americans, israelis and europeans mercenaries had to run to Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq to save their lives.. Recently also WG got French mercenaries @$$ wiped in Mali and had to run with their tails between their legs. Here take this intel – WG is operating in Ukraine and in west Ukraine remember the training camps bombing…it was done by WG that was tracking +44 (phone code) and located 12-14 numbers belonging to ex-UK army personnel and alone came Russian cruise missiles blowing 180 + mercenaries from US, UK, Poland, Germany, France beyond recognition and they also blew $400 million worth of army hardware 🤣🤣 3 out of 5 training camps out of service 😂😂 Azov trained by US itself has been running against Chechnya fighters from Mariupol, half of Azov was killed and that’s the reason Ukraine has been begging for foreign fighters…😂 and remaining are dressed as civilians and running..go and check Patrick Lancaster in YT. In short Putin took Americans by balls, squeezed it and shoved it in the place where sun doesn’t shine….he has made americans and nato butt of all jokes around the world* *and finally get yourself educated Crimea voted to join Russia and was not invaded by Russia..dumb Americans*

    2. Indeed US Troops accidently found themselves in a 4 hour battle with Wagner Group in 2018 in Syria. The US Killed 400 Wagner Group Mercenaries and the US took ZERO Casualties. They are so big and bad when they have a western nation fighting back at them!

  10. Wagner is a strange and intriguing name for Russian mercenaries. I read that the family of Richard Wagner lifted Hitler from the ash heap when he was released from prison. Without their intervention Hitler and the Nazis might not have happened.

    1. @aubs being crazy, doesn’t help much, dummy! how insane you must be to say that Russians are Nazi? this is just beyond insanity!

    2. That was 85 years ago. Those types of values don’t exist anymore in fighters for hire. They’re just glorified hillbillies who play pretend war. The Ukraine’s will mop the sidewalks with their heads on a stick. Prepare to die scumbags, this is your last fight. You’re entering the meat grinder now and you are the sausages.

    3. The founder’s favorite composer was Wagner. The following are quotes from the Wki page of The Wagner Group:
      “The Wagner Group was reportedly founded by Dmitriy Valeryevich Utkin, a veteran of the First and Second Chechen War.[40][41][42] Until 2008[42] or 2013, Utkin served as lieutenant colonel and brigade commander of a unit of special forces unit of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the 700th Independent Spetsnaz Detachment of the 2nd Independent Brigade.[43][1][44] After leaving the military, he began working in 2013 for the Moran Security Group, a private company founded by Russian military veterans, which was involved in security and training missions worldwide, and specializes in security against piracy. The same year, senior Moran Security Group managers were involved in setting up the Hong Kong-based Slavonic Corps,[45] which headhunted contractors to “protect oil fields and pipelines” in Syria during its civil war.[1] Utkin was deployed in Syria as a member of the Slavonic Corps, surviving its disastrous mission.”
      “The Wagner Group itself was first active in 2014,[1] along with Utkin, in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.[43] The company’s name comes from Utkin’s own call sign “Wagner” after the German composer Richard Wagner, which he is said to have chosen due to his passion for the Third Reich (Wagner being Adolf Hitler’s favorite composer).[47][48] As such, some believe him to be a neo-Nazi,[49][50] with The Economist reporting Utkin has several Nazi tattoos.”

    4. @blackbird sr-71 are you alright? are you well? if you don’t feel alright, you can take some oxycodone! for people without critical thinking like yourself is very good! some marijuana with alcohol is good too! morphine or Valium, good options!

  11. Everyone talked about how scary the “notorious” Chechen troops were when they came to Ukraine, including their bombastic leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. Several hundred dead Chechens later and the rest withdrew back to Chechnya.

    These Wagner wannabe soldiers will soon join them as fertilizer for Ukrainian sunflowers.

    By the way, we are five weeks into this war. Do you think you could learn how to pronounce Kharkiv (Харків)? It is Har-keev, not Car-keev.

    1. @Janick Pauwels anyway, this cnn comments section way too low iq, ahaha no one even watches fake news cnn other than the lowest iqs out there haha

    2. @Glenn Anderson
      MSM consumer detected.
      News flash: neo-nazis lost teritory bigger than Britain.
      And MSM is salivating over microscopic Irpin wich is 3 by 3 km.
      How pathetic

  12. Wow is he has to bring in Mercenaries and ask the Chinese government for help that means homeboy doesn’t really believe in his army that much what mercenaries are terrifying people🤔

  13. dictators always fail, but unfortunately, sacrifices are always needed before this happens.I myself was born in the middle of the cold war and I have not always understood the soft approach towards Putin. I understand that each of us longs for peace and prosperity, but we had forgotten that this is not free

    1. Putin won election and even today have better ratings than the money launderer, pedophile Biden 😂

    2. @Jason Frew We should have not sold any Technology to Russia. It should have been Isolated economically .

  14. The Wagner mercs are well known in Africa and are way less experienced than most people think. The vast majority of them do not seem to have any special forces training! They got their arses kicked very recently in northern Mozambique by Insurgents and ran home with their tails between their legs. They wouldn’t stand up to any reasonable soldiers and definitely not special forces teams anywhere on the planet so I do not think that the Ukrainians will have any trouble with these guys at all. The only benefit of using them is the casualty story with Wagner will have better optics back home in Russia, as compared to the casualty rate from regular Russian conscripts which is starting to piss Russian moms right off. My view is that the more they use Wagner and the Chechens the more the world knows how badly the Russians are getting hammered!

    1. Like most organizations who exist on their image, these guys create all the “legends” they can around themselves, to proactively scare off any opponents. It’s Putin v 2.0, lies, mirrors, and betrayed alliances… IF it could show results that way… which, sadly, it CANNOT with Ukrainians…

    2. @serbia991 Ever heard about Bagira? She is your compatriot. Now POW in Ukraine, because her communist-fascist friends let her for dead. She will soon tell her story to the journalists and ICC in the Hague.

    3. @serbia991 Ви могли б зробити всю допомогу, яку можете отримати, подивившись на жалюгідні руїни російської армії та її низький бойовий дух і техніку. Весь світ спостерігає, як вас перемагають на полі бою надзвичайно хоробрі українці 🇺🇦🇺🇦

  15. The Wagner Group is named after composer Richard Wagner, he was Hitler’s favorite composer and the name was adopted because the founder of the group liked the brutality of the Third Reich, so ironic that Putin stated that he wants to eliminate Neo-Nazism in Ukraine (his long standing excuse to invade) and yet will now use known Neo-Nazi mercenaries to fight this war.

    1. Actually it was named after this. There was a presentation on a symposium about the possibilitie and benefits of another aprouch to warfare on more comercial basis where the following clip was used to give an impression about blackwater since it seemed very hard to have actualy a video represententation of a american company blackwater and their activities .. that clip, attached to this comment leaded to a situation in wich a so called russian blackwater was caled the wager group. So actualy the composer is correct. Only we like the flying dutchman. I dont understand when you are neo nazi and it is really important that hitler likes wagner would you not call it the hitler group. I find it strange to automaticly connect wagner as a composer to neo nazism. Does that make apocalyps now a extreme right movie? It is ridicolous and an insult to professor philip wagner to call us nazi

  16. It’s as much as how good a soldier you are as how dedicated you are to defend your home n family that often determine which soldier win.

  17. They may be notorious, but I’ve also heard that they are way overestimated in military terms. From the footage I’ve seen of Ukrainian military at the front line, those guys are tough as nails and determined and russian soldiers as well as Wagner, syrian and chechnyan mercenaries are going to have a rough time.

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