Over 650 Wagner and Redut PMC militants exposed, 70+ searches underway – National Police
Law enforcement officers have exposed 654 militants of the Wagner and Redut PMCs (private military companies) within the framework of the international special operation "Avengers-2," the National Police of Ukraine has said
"More than 70 simultaneous searches are currently underway in Ukraine and Moldova - at the places of residence of the suspects and their relatives. The purpose of the investigative actions is to identify, document and bring to justice the militants financed by Russia who fought against Ukraine," the National Police said in a statement on Thursday.
Europol is coordinating the actions through the Virtual Command Post - a virtual command post that allows for the exchange of information, evidence and search results in real time between all participating countries.
It is noted that Ukrainian police have already identified the recruitment sites of Russian mercenaries, their training bases, deployment areas, commanders and circumstances of participation in hostilities. At the same time, documents, video recordings, telephone data and eyewitness accounts were collected, confirming the facts of the executions of civilians and prisoners, the use of prohibited weapons and other war crimes.
Based on the results of the searches, police investigators have already announced eleven suspicions against citizens of Ukraine who, during martial law, switched to the enemy side and participated in hostilities against Ukrainian forces as part of the Wagner and Redut PMCs. They are charged with high treason (Part 2, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), which provides for a penalty of 15 years of imprisonment to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
"If these persons return from the territory of Russia or the occupied regions to Ukraine or any state that recognizes Russian PMCs as terrorist organizations, they will be immediately detained, extradited and brought to trial," the National Police notes.
Within the second stage of the operation, through the Department of International Police Cooperation of the National Police of Ukraine, through Siena and Interpol channels, Ukrainian police officers transferred information about more than 280 foreign mercenaries who fought against Ukraine to the competent authorities of other countries. Among them are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
"In most of these countries, criminal liability for mercenary activity provides for a sentence of 5 to 15 years of imprisonment, and in some cases, life imprisonment. In addition, such crimes fall under universal jurisdiction, that is, mercenaries can be held accountable in any country in the world if they are there," the report states.
Currently, based on the results of investigative actions in the territory of the Republic of Moldova, 25 citizens of the specified country have been identified, who, as part of the Wagner PMC, participated in hostilities in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Currently, procedural documents have been prepared in relation to eight citizens regarding the notification of the latter of suspicion of committing a criminal offense, provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova, under the qualifying criteria "Participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict, in military operations or in other violent actions aimed at overthrowing or undermining the constitutional order or violating the territorial integrity of the state".
Regarding 17 citizens, the issue of declaring them wanted is being resolved.
Based on the collected primary evidence of the identified Moldovan citizens belonging to the private military company "Wagner", law enforcement officers are checking them for involvement in committing war crimes, sexual violence, and the murder of prisoners and civilians on the territory of Ukraine.
The National Police notes that international cooperation to expose mercenaries is already yielding concrete results.
On January 4, 2025, a citizen of Kazakhstan, a former mercenary of the Wagner PMC, was detained at the US-Mexico border. Ukrainian police, through Europol, transferred to American law enforcement agencies all available evidence of his participation in the crimes of this structure, officially recognized in the US as a terrorist organization.
On June 17, 2025, an active member of the Wagner PMC was detained in Finland, who personally participated in the assaults on Soledar and Bakhmut.
In addition, Ukrainian law enforcement officers for the first time collected sufficient evidence and brought to criminal responsibility under Article 447 (mercenary) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine a foreigner, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, who, as part of the private military company Wagner, personally participated in the capture and destruction of the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, and was awarded not only medals of the Wagner PMC, but also a state award of the Russian Federation.