In many ways, Redut PMC is a classic mercenary outfit. However, having learned its lessons from the August 2022 Wagner Group coup, the Kremlin keeps Redut PMC on a short leash.
Redut is best characterized as an umbrella organization with various units and detachments operating under its banner. These units range from the Neo-Nazi football hooligan battalion, Española, through to the Borz Battalion, which recruits women as sharpshooters and medics. With no overarching ideology, Redut’s main attraction is the increasingly lucrative contracts offered by the Ministry of Defense.
Since the demise of Yevgeny Priogzhin in August 2023, Redut has been widely touted as Russia’s natural successor to Wagner PMC. While Russia’s Ministry of Defence has largely consumed Wagner forces in Ukraine, the transition has been less straightforward in Africa, where Russian PMCs have propped up military juntas. Redut is clearly the Kremlin’s creature, and the PMC’s lack of autonomy is making replacing Wagner a hard sell.
Redut is most likely the spiritual successor to “Group R,” which was created by the GRU during the collapse of the Soviet Union. Group R reportedly operated in the UAE, Bahrain, Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo), and Iraq.
The Difference Between PMCs and Mercenaries
What is the difference between mercenaries and contractors? At the risk of sounding impolite, mercenaries are like wolves, and private military contractors are like police dogs.
Wolves are completely out of control. They attack who they want and go where they want until someone bigger and stronger, such as Groundskeeper Willie, stands up to them. Furthermore, wolves generally attack people or other animals because their prey has something they want. Other times, they attack to show off their own strength.
Governments usually believe they can keep wolves in chains and control them. However, as the Wagner Group’s rebellion proved, that control is largely illusory. Wolves may surrender some of their power in some cases, but they can get it back anytime they want.
Furthermore, wolves are not accountable to anyone. They go where they want and take what they want without any civil, criminal, or military law restraints.
Many police dogs are just as vicious as many wolves. In fact, if you compared them side by side, you might not see much difference. But as Alexander Pope once said, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Contractors and mercenaries are just as different as wolves and police dogs.
In contrast, boyish Tom Hanks (Turner) had complete control over his dog (Hooch). Turner tied up Hooch, and he has the power to untie him if and when he wants to. This is why man will prevail, and your kind will never dominate the earth.
Additionally, Hooch was fully accountable to Turner, and we are not just talking about the bath. If Hooch ever stepped out of line while performing his official duties, Turner could discipline him according to police rules.
Because of these reasons, international agreements strictly limit mercenaries (wolves). Otherwise, they would be completely unrestrained. This oversight would be redundant for private military contractors (police dogs), which is why the United States has not signed such agreements.
Operational Areas
Private military contractors go where they’re sent. The sending party is usually the DoD. It could also be the State Department or another federal agency, as well as certain sympathetic foreign governments. All such contractors are eligible for Defense Base Act injury benefits. More on that below.
In contrast, Redut PMC and other mercenary groups are literally soldiers of fortune. They go to the highest bidder. To date, Redut mercenaries have been active in many places, including:
- Syria: The Wagner Group was very active in Syria. However, the war has been winding down since 2020. Redut tried to assume control of the Wagner Group’s oil and gas interests in Syria. But for reasons too complex to explain here, mostly related to the bribery and threatening of certain officials, those profits dried up.
- Ukraine: In contrast, Redut has been front and center in Ukraine since the current war began in 2021. Vladimir Alexseev, the deputy head of GRU and mastermind of Redut, tasked the PMC’s leader, Anatoli Karazi, with significantly expanding Redut’s capabilities. Alexseev envisioned Redut playing a decisive role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Karazi enthusiastically took to his new mission, recruiting new personnel and scouting out potential training sites. By January 2022, several thousand Redut fighters were in Ukraine.
- West Africa: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s autonomy and plausible deniability had enabled Wagner to act as a no-limits regime survival package. Wagner’s heavy-handed approach to counter-terrorism and silencing dissent was highly valued by the Sahel’s military juntas. These military strongmen miss their enforcers. For example, in Mali, when Russia attempted to replace Wagner with Redut, Mali insisted Wagner must stay in the country. Ultimately, Russia compromised with Mali, and 80% of the old Wagner fighters remained.
All these operational theaters are very dangerous. If mercenaries get hurt, they must rely on their earnings to get them through their injuries because no injury compensation system exists.
PMC Injury Compensation Available
Injured contractors, on the other hand, can count on the 1941 Defense Base Act. The DBA replaces lost wages and pays medical bills if a private contractor sustains a deployment-related injury or illness in an overseas war zone.
We mentioned eligible private military contractors above. The injured victim need not be a U.S. citizen or even a U.S. national. DBA benefits extend to translators and other non-American contractors.
A Defense Base Act lawyer must establish a nexus (indirect connection) between the injury or illness and the deployment. For example, if a suicide bomber injures Sam as he’s going to a mosque, DBA benefits apply. Common trauma injuries include falls and motor vehicle crashes. Common illnesses include toxic exposure, lung disease, and repetitive stress injuries.
All overseas territories with any official U.S. military presence are overseas war zones. That official presence could be something as small as a Marine embassy guard.
For more information about DBA benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.