The Main Directorate of Intelligence (MDI) of the Ministry of Defense prepared a report on the tactics and effectiveness of Russian mercenaries from the PMC "Wagner". In Ukraine, they emphasize the fact that they have extremely strict discipline and do not pay attention to losses — because of this they achieve success.
This is reported by CNN, which has read the report of the MDI.
The document was created in December 2022. In it, Ukrainian intelligence emphasizes that the "Wagnerians" pose a serious threat at close range, even in the conditions of insane losses that they suffer. Mercenaries have become disposable infantry for Russia, and their deaths have no significance for Russian society.
"Assault groups do not retreat without a team. Unauthorized departure of the team or uninjured is punishable by shooting on the spot," the MDI document states.
Wiretapping also reveals the brutality of the battlefield. In one of them, a soldier can be heard talking about another who tried to surrender to the Ukrainians. "The Wagnerians caught him and cut off his balls," says the soldier.
At the same time, wounded "Wagnerians" are often left on the battlefield for several hours. The infantry has no right to independently evacuate the wounded, it is obliged to continue the assault. Only if he failed — they can retreat, only at night.
Ukrainian intelligence emphasizes that this tactic is the only effective one for poorly trained mobilized troops, which make up the majority of the Russian ground forces. The report states that the Wagnerites use mobile groups of a dozen or fewer to assault, using rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs) and reconnaissance drones, which the report calls a "key element."
Tens of thousands of recruited convicts are often used in the first wave of an attack, and they bear the heaviest losses of up to 80%. They are followed by more experienced fighters with thermal imagers and night vision devices. If the PMC Wagner forces manage to take a position, artillery support allows them to dig trenches and secure their gains, but these trenches are very vulnerable to attack in open terrain. However, according to Ukrainian intercepts, coordination between the "Wagnerians" and the Russian military is often lacking.