Secrecy surrounds the Wagner Group, the private mercenaries who are aiding Vladimir Putin's war efforts in Ukraine and are also linked to mining and conflicts in Africa.
The paramilitary organization is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.Information on the Wagner Group can be hard to come by, because it operates in the shadows.
In recent months he has openly feuded with Russian generals about their war strategies and posted a video demanding Ukraine withdraw its remaining forces from Bakhmut. But Isabella Currie, who researches the group at La Trobe University, says his public messaging has been confusing, misleading, and wrong in the past.
But over the last 12 months, there's been micro-conflicts and even quite a bit of competition between the Wagner Group and the military and security forces in Russia," she said. "They can say, when they're confronted with some of the crimes committed by Wagner in Ukraine, they don't have any responsibility for those actions."
But Ms Currie says shining a light on the group through research could go some way to hampering their operations.
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