Wagner Commander Reveals Number of Mercenaries Killed in Ukraine

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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S. military, weapons systems and emerging technology. She joined Newsweek in January 2023, having previously worked as a reporter at the Daily Express, and is a graduate of International Journalism at City, University of London. Languages: English, Spanish.You can reach Ellie via email at e.cook@newsweek.com. 


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David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European Union, and the Russia-Ukraine War. David joined Newsweek in 2018 and has since reported from key locations and summits across Europe and the South Caucasus. This includes extensive reporting from the Baltic, Nordic, and Central European regions, plus Georgia and Ukraine. Originally from London, David graduated from the University of Cambridge having specialized in the history of empires and revolutions. You can contact David at d.brennan@newsweek.com and follow him on Twitter @DavidBrennan100.

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A total of 22,000 Wagner Group mercenaries have been killed in Ukraine, with a further 40,000 wounded, according to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel.

As of May 20, 25,000 recruits working for the paramilitary outfit were "alive and healthy," according to the account, which attributes the quotes to a commander with the call sign "Marx." Newsweek has been unable to independently verify his identity.

Of these recruits, 15,000 are on leave and 10,000 are now in Belarus, the commander said. Per the information posted by "Marx" on Wednesday and republished by another Wagner press channel, a total of 78,000 Wagner mercenaries have participated in operations in Ukraine.

Newsweek could not independently verify these figures. Battlefield losses on either side of the ongoing war in Ukraine are difficult to calculate, and neither Moscow nor Kyiv publish regular updates of their own casualty counts. The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.

Wagner in Russia
Wagner Group fighters are seen in a military vehicle in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don late on June 24, 2023. A total of 22,000 Wagner Group mercenaries have been killed in Ukraine, according to a... ROMAN ROMOKHOV/AFP via Getty Images

Wagner fighters, largely made up of Russian convicts pulled from the country's jails, received little formal training before arriving in Ukraine. But they spearheaded the Russian effort in the contested eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut before pulling out in late May. A settlement with little strategic significance, the destroyed city has been an epicenter of fierce fighting since the late summer of 2022.

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he lost 20,000 Wagner fighters in the months-long battle for Bakhmut.

Around half of those who had been killed in Bakhmut were convicts from Russia's prisons, Prigozhin said. On June 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that Ukrainian fighters had killed 21,000 Wagner troops and injured 80,000.

On February 17, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. estimated that Wagner had suffered "more than 30,000 casualties, including approximately 9,000 killed in action."

Around half of those who had died in the war had been killed since mid-December as fighting in Bakhmut raged on, Kirby told the media. Approximately 90 percent of Wagner personnel who died in December were convicts with few resources and little training, Kirby added.

The future fate of the Wagner Group had been uncertain following its aborted mutiny and advance on Moscow in late June. In a deal apparently brokered by Belarus' strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to relocate to Belarus.

In a video address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wagner soldiers could "continue serving Russia by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and friends."

"Whoever wants to, can go to Belarus," he added.

On Sunday, a Ukrainian official said only "a few hundred" Wagner fighters had moved to Belarus. But a video posted by Wagner on Wednesday showed Prigozhin for the first time since the armed rebellion last month, apparently in Belarus.

Speaking to his fighters, the former Putin ally said Wagner convicts had fought "honorably," adding: "You have done a great deal for Russia. What is going on at the front is a disgrace that we do not need to get involved in."

In the footage, Prigozhin seems to suggest Wagner soldiers will be carrying out operations in Africa, and training the Belarusian armed forces.

Wagner fighters in Belarus are "instructors in some military disciplines," the state-run BeLTA news agency reported on Friday, citing Minsk's defense ministry.

The Polish Defense Ministry told Newsweek on Wednesday that Warsaw "carefully monitors the situation regarding the possible deployment of the Wagner Group's mercenaries in Belarus," adding that it did not "ignore any signals."

"The potential presence of the Wagner Group's fighters in Belarus would be a matter of concern," a spokesperson said in a statement. "If confirmed, it may further destabilize the situation in Belarus."

Poland has bolstered its military presence on the border with Belarus, the spokesperson said, adding: "The implications of the potential deployment of the Wagner Group's mercenaries in Belarus is a subject of consultations with our NATO Allies."

Separately, Russian independent outlet iStories reported on Wednesday that Wagner had "dismissed" all convicts from its ranks.

Update 07/20/23, 10:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from the Polish Defense Ministry.

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About the writer

Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S. military, weapons systems and emerging technology. She joined Newsweek in January 2023, having previously worked as a reporter at the Daily Express, and is a graduate of International Journalism at City, University of London. Languages: English, Spanish.You can reach Ellie via email at e.cook@newsweek.com. 


Writers Page
and

David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European Union, and the Russia-Ukraine War. David joined Newsweek in 2018 and has since reported from key locations and summits across Europe and the South Caucasus. This includes extensive reporting from the Baltic, Nordic, and Central European regions, plus Georgia and Ukraine. Originally from London, David graduated from the University of Cambridge having specialized in the history of empires and revolutions. You can contact David at d.brennan@newsweek.com and follow him on Twitter @DavidBrennan100.

Writers Page

Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more