Europol identifies 654 war crimes suspects tied to Russian paramilitary

Europol’s Core International Crimes Team has supported Moldova and Ukraine in a second phase of war crimes investigation against members of the Wagner and Redut mercenary groups, Europol announced on 31 October.

Overall, the investigation led to the identification of 654 members of the Russian private military companies Wagner and Redut, who were involved in combat operations against Ukraine. The list of suspects includes citizens of Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These individuals are believed to have committed war crimes such as acts of sexual violence, executions of prisoners of war and executions of civilians.

Europol’s EU Internet Referral Unit also supported the 29 October action day, focused on war crimes suspects, which resulted in:

• 70 house searches in Moldova and Ukraine;
• seizures, including firearms and cold weapons, ammunition, uniforms, chevrons with the symbols of the Wagner paramilitary company, and electronic equipment;
• collection of video material and photographic evidence suggesting the participation of citizens of Ukraine and Moldova in hostilities in the territory of Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo while being part of the Russian private military company.

During the investigation, Ukrainian authorities shared with concerned countries, via Europol’s secure channels, 280 names of foreign nationals suspected of involvement in combat operations. Since the beginning of the investigation, national authorities have uncovered recruitment and training sites, mapped command structures, and documented war crimes including the executions of civilians, the use of banned weapons, and attacks on Ukrainian cities. To date, 11 Ukrainian citizens have been indicted for high treason for joining the Wagner and Redut formations.

Europol supported the investigation by facilitating information exchange and providing specialised analytical support. During the action days, Europol set up a virtual command post to facilitate communication among the involved authorities. It also strengthened intelligence gathering by comparing real-time operational data with its databases, including OSINT research.

Europol supports joint efforts to disrupt serious and organised crime and criminal networks that threaten the security of the EU and its neighbourhood.

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Press release