The Wagner Group, the shadowy mercenary army controlled by a Russian business magnate known as “Putin’s Chef,” has used one of the fiercest battles of the 11-month Ukraine invasion to insert itself into the fight and raise its profile abroad and its political influence at home.
Analysts say the private army has sent about 50,000 hired troops to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion almost a year ago. The Biden administration says that the vast majority, at least 40,000, were convicts swept out of Russian prisons who were offered pardons in exchange for a six-month tour of duty on the front lines.