(speaking in foreign language)
- [Narrator] This documentary by Russian State Media
praises a private military company called Wagner.
The paramilitary group operating in Ukraine
has been getting a lot of positive coverage.
All this despite private military organizations
being illegal in Russia.
Just before the invasion of Ukraine,
the Russian president denied any ties.
(speaking in foreign language)
Kiev has accused Wagner of war crimes.
Now, as Moscow loses ground in Ukraine,
the company is gaining prominence.
(object banging)
News reports and social media accounts
show Wagner's men leading attacks in Eastern Ukraine,
tapping prisoners to fight
and sending threatening messages to the Kremlin's opponents.
Here's how the secretive company
has come to take on a semi-official role in Ukraine.
(gentle music)
Formed in 2014 to fight in Ukraine back then,
Wagner has since operated
in Syria and several African countries.
Since the spring, it's been indispensable
for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
That's according to Ukrainian commanders
who detected its presence early on.
After Russia's main offensive stalled in May,
Wagner managed to take the town of Popasna,
paving the way for the Russian army
to take several strategic cities.
Recently, the group has been fighting
for the eastern city of Bakhmut.
(speaking in foreign language)
As Wagner slowly advances toward the city,
Russian propaganda has been amplifying its importance,
anticipating that President Vladimir Putin
could tout a rare victory
after a series of losses and setbacks.
But Wagner's services come at a cost.
The group has been losing about 10% to 15% of its fighters
on an average mission in Ukraine as dead or wounded.
That's according to an estimate
by a former Ukrainian intelligence official.
Wagner's fighters are paid better
than the regular Russian troops,
with an advertised starting monthly pay
of around $3,500 compared to $2,700
that Moscow pays its soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
And recently, the company has resorted
to unconventional measures to find new recruits.
(speaking in foreign language)
In September, a video circulating online
showed a man recruiting inmates
for Wagner in a Russian prison.
The news agency Storyful was able to confirm the location.
A social media account
affiliated with Wagner identified the man
as Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner's owner and leader.
Prigozhin has said he has visited several penal colonies
but he declined to answer our questions
on the recruitment of inmates and Wagner's role in the war.
Enlist prisoners comes as Moscow is trying to balance
its highly unpopular mobilization efforts
with its need for troops.
Russian human rights activists
estimated that at least 15,000 inmates
had been recruited to fight in Ukraine by mid-October.
Recruiting inmates has another advantage
as the official troops morale falters.
Consequences for refusing to fight
are more severe for them.
(speaking in foreign language)
That message was reinforced in November.
A Wagner linked social media account shared a video
purporting to show group members
killing one of their own with a sledgehammer.
The victim had identified himself
as a former convict who tried to switch sides
and fight for Ukraine.
The authenticity of that footage
which we are not showing here, couldn't be verified
but Prigozhin separately said the man was a traitor.
Days later, Wagner used a sledgehammer again.
This time, the group sent one to the European parliament
after the EU branded Russia, a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Russian Ministry of Defense didn't respond
to our request for comment
on Wagner's growing prominence in Ukraine.
Wagner's rise comes at a time when nationalist hardliners
in Russia are calling
for tougher methods to turn the tide in Moscow's favor.
And the mercenaries activities in Ukraine
are welcomed by pro-war critics of the Kremlin.
Military analysts in the West say the expanded role
for an organization accused of war crimes
and one that is recruiting convicted criminals,
is a telling indicator
of the perilous state of Putin's war machine.
In December, Putin said
that the military campaign in Ukraine was going well.