Mercenaries of “Gazprom” can become a counterbalance to PMC “Wagner” against the background of the conflict between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Kremlin.
In February, the Russian state company Gazprom created its own army, which it can use both in Ukraine and during the Russian civil war. This is written by the largest German tabloid Bild.
According to RIA Novosti, on February 6, the Russian government allowed Gazprom Neft to set up a private organization to protect the company’s energy facilities. The company’s co-founder was the security company “Staf-Center”, which received a share of 30%.
On March 7, Yuri Kotenok, a Russian propagandist and editor-in-chief of Segodnya.ru, wrote on Telegram that Russia was setting up a private military company, Gazprom Neft, in Ukraine, in which mercenaries were paid 400,000-600,000 rubles a month ($5,260-$7,890), which about twice as high as compared to PMC “Wagner”. He later elaborated:
“Alas, these are not PMCs, but volunteer formations, an analogue of BARS.”
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine noted that Gazprom had created a “security company” in Russia against the backdrop of a growing conflict between the Kremlin and Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. As suggested by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia can use this armed formation not only to protect energy facilities, but also to achieve other goals. “Gazprom Neft” can compete with PMC “Wagner” for the recruitment in the Donetsk region.
Expert on Ukraine Serhiy Sumlenny, in a commentary to BILD, acknowledged the creation of a private army of Gazprom as quite possible. According to him, there are many paramilitary structures operating in Russia, and Wagner is only the most famous of them, since it is well promoted. The most influential Russian oligarchs already have their own armies, and they can be used during the civil war in the Russian Federation.
“The Russian elites are preparing for the worst for themselves: the military defeat of Russia and the end of the Putin regime. After that, Putin’s friends will no longer be guaranteed property rights, which is why they need such armies. The Russian regions are also slowly starting to create their own “national battalions,” Sumlenny said. “The real interests of Gazprom and others lie in the distant future, not in the coming months of the war.”
Earlier they wrote that the Kremlin is actively hiring volunteers, preparing for a protracted war in Ukraine. According to ISW analysts, in this way President Vladimir Putin is trying to avoid a new wave of forced mobilization.
On March 9, information appeared that the Russian authorities blocked Yevgeny Prigozhin’s special communication channels and canceled passes to all departments so that he would stop asking for ammunition for the Wagner PMC. He had repeatedly complained about the lack of shells and their slow delivery to the front.
