Growing Russian Mercenary Industry Amid US Troop Withdrawal... Former NSC Advisor: "Trump Overlooked International Conflicts"

CSIS "Involvement in Conflict Zones Worldwide Including Syria, Libya, and Ukraine"
"Trump Criticized for Displaying Friendship with Putin and Ignoring Russian Expansion"
Former McMaster Aide "Putin Likely Very Pleased with Trump's Silence"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the United States begins to withdraw from major conflict zones around the world, including the Middle East, Russian mercenary groups are increasingly filling the void.

Concerns are rising that Russia is rapidly expanding its influence, but there is growing criticism that U.S. President Donald Trump is effectively turning a blind eye due to his personal friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor Herbert McMaster pointed out, "President Trump is overlooking Russia's interference in U.S. politics to sow division and provoke international conflicts."

On the 27th (local time), the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) warned in a recent report titled "Moscow's Mercenary Wars" that Russia is militarily intervening in about 30 countries, including Libya, Syria, Ukraine, the Central African Republic, and Venezuela, through private military companies (PMCs). Among these PMCs, the Wagner Group mercenary force is reported to have about 2,500 to 5,000 personnel in Ukraine, 1,000 to 3,000 in Syria, and nearly 200 in places like the Central African Republic and Venezuela.

Russia denies the existence of PMCs under its national law, calling it Western fake news, claiming that the establishment of PMC companies is impossible under Russian law. However, insiders assess that Wagner's influence has spread worldwide. Yevgeny Prigozhin, CEO of Concord Catering and the actual owner of Wagner, is a close confidant of President Putin, and Dmitry Utkin, the head of the Wagner Group, is known to be a former member of Russia's GRU special forces, Spetsnaz.

Wagner mercenaries train alongside regular troops, and CSIS points out that when requested, Russian regular forces sometimes provide heavy weapons support such as tanks and bombers. Although Russian mercenary groups outwardly present themselves as private organizations separate from the government, they are effectively acting as government troops.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

While the U.S. administration and the United Nations (UN) are seeking sanctions against Russian mercenary companies, it is realistically difficult. On the 23rd, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Prigozhin, the actual owner and financier of the Wagner Group, along with six related companies and individuals. However, President Trump undercut the Treasury's sanctions policy by stating at a Nevada campaign rally on the 21st of the same month, "I like Putin, and Putin likes me."

The UN is also concerned about the expansion of Russian mercenary forces in global conflict zones. According to the Associated Press, on the 26th, the UN Security Council's Libya arms embargo monitoring committee attempted to publish a report on violations of the arms embargo in Libya during May. However, the report's release failed due to opposition from Russia and China.

This is fueling concerns in conjunction with the U.S. troop withdrawal. According to The Washington Post (WP), the U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 10th that it would reduce U.S. troops in Iraq from the current 5,200 to 3,000, and plans to cut forces in Afghanistan to about 4,000?half the current number?before fully withdrawing by May next year.

Along with the withdrawal of regular troops, the U.S. mercenary industry, which worked alongside stationed U.S. forces, is also showing signs of contraction. Immediately after the 2003 Iraq War, more than 120,000 U.S. mercenaries, including those from the world's largest U.S. mercenary company Blackwater, operated in Iraq. However, after an incident in September 2007 where Blackwater mercenaries indiscriminately fired on civilian vehicles in Baghdad, they were completely excluded from combat missions and now only perform limited roles such as U.S. military transport and escort duties.

McMaster appeared on CNN that day and strongly criticized, saying, "President Putin must be very pleased that President Trump is not criticizing Russia's actions at all." His successor, former White House NSC advisor John Bolton, also argued that President Trump's excessive tolerance of not only China's but also Russia's expansion threatens U.S. security.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.