WASHINGTON – One of the most complicated episodes in Syria’s ever-twistingwar took place on the night of February 7. In that incident, U.S. troopsand their Syrian allies near the town of Deir al-Zour were attacked byhundreds of fighters loyal to the Syrian regime. The Americans respondedwith a devastating counterattack that the United States said left about 100dead.

Soon, this already dicey situation was complicated further by reports thatRussian mercenaries had taken part in the attack and were among the dead -making it the deadliest U.S.-Russia clash since the Cold War.

The mercenary firm is named Wagner, and it has been linked to YevgeniyPrigozhin, a Russian oligarch who was recently indicted by special counselRobert S. Mueller III for an alleged role in “information warfare” ahead ofthe 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Worse still, U.S. intelligence reports suggest that Prigozhin was in touchwith both the Kremlin and Syrian officials shortly before and after theattack, The Washington Post reported Thursday. The situation raises bigquestions about what role a Russian mercenary firm – or rather a”pseudo-mercenary” firm, according to Russian military expert Mark Galeotti- was playing in the Syrian war.

*When was Wagner created?*

Wagner first gained attention for its operations in 2014 in Ukraine, wheremercenaries with the group – mostly military veterans and ultranationalists- were reported to be fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in theeastern part of the country. The group was believed to have been led byDmitry Utkin, who until 2013 had served in Russia’s foreign militaryintelligence agency, the GRU.

After leaving official military service, Utkin is reported to have workedwith the private security firm Moran Security Group and the “SlavonicCorps,” a group of Russian mercenaries sent to Syria in 2013 withnotoriously disastrous consequences. According to the Russian investigativeoutlet Fontanka, Utkin is a Nazi sympathizer, hence the name of his newgroup. He was later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for hisinvolvement in Ukraine.

In 2015, after the Russian military intervened to prop up Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad, Wagner began sending troops to Syria; as early as October2015, just one month after Russia began airstrikes, Russian citizens werereported to have died fighting alongside pro-government forces. Subsequentreports indicated that Wagner mercenaries may be deployed to Sudan and theCentral African Republic.

*What is Prigozhin’s relationship to Wagner?*

Prigozhin is a Russian oligarch who first became famous as a restaurateur -his nickname is “Putin’s chef.” He has had a remarkable life, taking anunlikely path from prison, where he served nine years on charges related torobbery and prostitution, to becoming a Kremlin-linked entrepreneur.

He now has a reputation as a man willing to do Russian President VladimirPutin’s dirty work. Last week, he was included in a U.S. indictment thatfocused on the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based firm thatwas alleged to have used social media to interfere in U.S. politics,including the 2016 presidential election. The indictment says thatPrigozhin and his catering company, Concord, spent “significant funds” onthe venture and that Prigozhin attended regular briefings on its work.

U.S. intelligence sources think that Prigozhin “almost certainly” controlsthe Wagner mercenaries fighting in Syria. Notably, Russian business outletRBC reported last year that Utkin appeared to have been listed as thegeneral director of one of Prigozhin’s catering businesses.

*What role does Wagner play in Syria?*

At first, Wagner mercenaries were believed to be involved mostly withsecurity for Russian bases and other military facilities in Syria. However,as the war has dragged on, they have taken a more active stance and playeda role in the fighting to reclaim the ancient city of Palmyra in 2016 and2017.

At least part of the group’s efforts may be purely commercial, too. TheAssociated Press reported late last year that a Syrian state oil companyhad offered a Wagner front company a cut of profits from refineriesliberated from the Islamic State.

The number of Wagner troops in the country has been as high as 3,000,according to Fontanka, which also says that around 73 have died in Syria -a conservative estimate according to other monitoring groups. The Russiangovernment has acknowledged that “several dozen” Russians were killed orwounded in the U.S. counterattack Feb. 7 and 8.

*So is this a private group or is it part of the Russian military?*

Wagner’s murky links to the government make it unique, according toGaleotti. “Russia has often used hirelings and mercenaries, from the czar’sCossacks to turned rebels in Chechnya, but they worked for the statedirectly, not a front company,” he explained via email.

Indeed, although Putin has expressed support for the idea of privatedefense companies, such ventures remain illegal under Russian law. When the”Slavonic Corps” returned to Russia from Syria in 2013, some members werereportedly arrested.

But private military companies can serve a key purpose for Russia. TheKremlin is keen to avoid official casualties in Syria like those that weresustained during bloody and unpopular wars, notably in Chechnya and theSoviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. And as Moscow saw during theconflict in Ukraine, private military contractors can give it a degree ofplausible deniability when it comes to controversial internationalconflicts.

The Russian government has quietly embraced its mercenary allies at times -Utkin was photographed receiving an award from Putin in 2016. According toU.S. intelligence intercepts, Prigozhin told Syrian officials he had”secured permission” from an unspecified Russian minister for the Feb. 7attack.

However, it isn’t clear to what extent Moscow directs Wagner’s work orwhether it always condones it. Yury Barmin, an expert on Russian foreignpolicy in the Middle East, suggested on Twitter that the lack of Russianmilitary support for Wagner during the U.S. counterattack could suggest asplit between the Russian Defense Ministry and the mercenary group.

He tweeted “Who has Putin’s ear, Shoigu or Prigozhin? This is somethingthat a select group of people competes for in the Kremlin.” and “What Ithink happened in Deir Ezzor, is the MoD, understanding that its role isdiminishing, punished Prigozhin and his Wagner foot soldiers who actindependently by not interfering in the US attack in Deir Ezzor (whichwould arguably require just one Russian jet in the area)” – The WashingtonPost