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Tracing Timur Praliev Using Data Leaks
On Jan 4, Border Patrol agents detained Timur Praliev when he illegally crossed the Rio Grande river into the United States. Praliev was carrying a Kazakh and Russian passport, as well as a drone in his backpack. During interrogation, Praliev admitted to being a member of the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization sponsored by the…
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The RSF-Wagner-UAE Coalition is Destabilizing Sudan and International Security
This is a guest opinion article by Mohamed Suliman, a researcher and writer based in Boston, investigating issues such as the War in Sudan and violations committed by the RSF militia. A recent report by Source Material exposed that the UAE is utilizing Wagner fighters to funnel arms from the Central African Republic (CAR) to…
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From Wagner to the Ministry of Defense: Who Recruits Russians for the “Africa Corps”
This article is a joint investigation between Nordsint and Verstka Media. Verstka’s investigation in Russian is available at Verstka.media Following the 2023 death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) moved to replace Wagner’s operations in Africa with a new unit known as the Africa Corps. The Corps has effectively taken…
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“Remote Destinations”: How the Wagner Group Recruits for African Operations
This article is a joint investigation between Nordsint and Verstka Media. Verstka’s investigation is available at Verstka.media The official employment channel of the Wagner Group, also known as PMC Wagner, has published about 18 messages advertising recruitment of mercenaries for operations in African countries. Nordsint, together with Verstka Media have established the identities of those…
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Tracing Russia’s Africa Corps Using Telegram Locations
Location data from messaging app Telegram has revealed activity at the base of the Africa Corps, a paramilitary formation with links to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The base of the Africa Corps is located in Loumbila, Burkina Faso according to a report by French news outlet Le Monde. Using a Telegram search tool, it…
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Livestream Proves Continued Activity in the PMC Wagner Center
Despite reductions in online and physical activity, a recent livestream proves that the PMC Wagner Center in St. Petersburg is still in use by the Wagner Group. The Wagner Center is a technological and public influence hub of the Wagner Group. First opened on November 4th, 2022, the center hosted hacking competitions, art competitions, and…
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Geolocation Case Study: Wagner’s Instructors in the Central African Republic
Wagner Group affiliated channels published multiple images showing its instructors training with police cadets and presidential guards of the Central African Republic. This article breaks down how these images were geolocated. As the Central African Republic has a land area of 623,000 square kilometers, the first step in the process is to narrow down the…
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Wagner Group Potentially Opens Recruitment for Niger
On September 11th, the Wagner Group posted a message in its Telegram channel, asking if there were any “volunteers” interested in a long distance trip. “Colleagues, active duty personnel, those who have all the paperwork for the long distance activities, do we have any volunteers? Send the answer before September 12 , try to make…
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The History of the PMC Wagner Center
The story of the Wagner Center begins in 2009. The center, originally known as the Morskaya Stolica, was built to accommodate the headquarters of RosStroyInvest (RSTI), a construction company based in St. Petersburg. According to reports at the time, the company acquired the plot in 2009, and obtained a building permit in 2013. During this…
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Wagner Group’s St. Petersburg Rally: License Plate Analysis
On May 9, Wagner Group hosted a rally in St. Petersburg in front of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. A small convoy of was present as part of the rally. What are the identities of the cars? Wagner Group released multiple videos and photographs of the event in its Telegram channel. Although many of the videos by…