The Pentagon distributed a video of the destruction of a T-72 tank near the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, filmed on February 7. Then the details of the death of a large group of militants from the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) started appearing in the media. The volunteers of InformNapalm international community in cooperation with the Ihtamnet_m0209 project team and the hacktivists of the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance carried out a comprehensive open-source intelligence (OSINT) operation on the collection and identification of the PMC’s tank crews. Some information from our insider sources was supplemented by and checked against the open-source data, as well as scanning of email dumps. To protect the sources of the leak, we do not disclose the entire range of data yet. However, even now we are ready to present personal data of 26 mercenaries (25 tankmen + 1 chief of the fuel service). We have not yet been able to establish who of them took part in the battle near Deir ez-Zor, however some have departmental awards for participation in Donbas hostilities, including for tank battles at the Luhansk airport, signed personally by the Russian president.
We must note that Wagner personnel is better instructed regarding their presence on social media compared to the contract soldiers and officers of the regular Russian troops. Nevertheless comprehensive cooperative OSINT effort and data consolidation from three volunteer teams yielded a spectacular result. We decided not to hold back this piece of intelligence. We hope that the publication of this data could give clues to other investigative journalists exposing more facts sensitive to the Kremlin.
List of Tankmen of the Wagner PMC
Chabanov Artem Sergeevich, born January 03, 1991 in Voronezh city, personal number М-1994, according to our data he is a driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC. In 2009, he served at the tank training center of military unit #07008 (city of Vladimir), and from 2009 to 2010 – in the military unit #09332 (the 7th Military Base of the Russian occupation forces in Georgia). Married, three children. On VK social network, he is hiding under the name of Artem Artemiev. Favorite quote: “What the spetsnaz are tough enough for, the tankmen don’t give a f*ck about!!!” (archived VK , OK profiles).
Screenshot of the VK profile. Accessed on February 17, 2018.
Photos from the period of the conscript military service.
And such “Russian bear” motives he liked to post two years ago, however the reality proved somewhat different.
Skitsan Yuriy Yurievich, born September 28, 1983, personal number M-1038, according to our data he was the head of the fuel service at Wagner PMC (archived VK profile, photos).
He has a photo with a Wagner PMC award (For Blood and Courage) and a photo of the token with the personal number (it matches the data from our non-public sources). We have grounds to believe that he also took part in the hostilities in Donbas.
Dashkin Rushat Raisovich, born August 24, 1980 in Salavat city, Republic of Bashkortostan, personal number M-2269, he was listed as a driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
His data also features on the SBU report.
Konograi Semyon Anatolyevich, born October 22, 1984 in Krasnodar city, personal number M-0604, tank commander in the tank company of Wagner PMC. Married, two children.
Interestingly, both of his brothers – Illarion and Anton – are staff officers in Russian Army. Their father is a deputy director of the Gymnasium #25 in Krasnodar, and mother is a teacher of Russian language and literature in the same gymnasium. (profile)
Stolbtsov Valeriy Vasilyevich, born April 06, 1961 in Krasnodar city, personal number M-1876, instructor for training of tank crews at Wagner PMC. Took part in the Afghan war. In 1982 he graduated from the Tashkent Higher Tank Command and Engineering School. Served in Chechnya. His son – Stolbtsov Alexey Valerievich, born May 28, 1989, is a staff officer in the Airborne Forces of Russia.
There is another Wagner militant on the friend list of Valeriy Stolbtsov – Andrey Goreslavets (see below). Archives: source 1, VK, OK profiles.
Goreslavets Andrey Vladimirovich, born May 05, 1964, in Stavropol city, personal number M-0977, tank commander of the tank company of the Wagner PMC. His son Vladimir, born May 24, 1992 (or 1991), also joined the Wagner PMC.
Photo: Vladimir and Andrey Goreslavets
Goreslavets Vladimir Andreevich, born May 24, 1991 (or 1992) in Stavropol city, personal number M-2203, the driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
(archived VK profile)
Tarpakov Robert Petrovich, born March 1, 1961 in the town of Chemal, Chemal district of the Altai Republic, personal number M-2237, commander of the armored service of Wagner PMC. At least until March 2010, he served at the district enlistment office in Chemal, Altai Republic (source). He was twice charged with drunk driving (source). The comments on the site give us reasons to believe that he took part in the hostilities in Donbas.
He ran for regional parliament of the Altai Republic as a candidate from the Communist Party (source), he is a member of the Chemal district committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, a member of the Association of Veterans and Employees of Security Services, he is also on the “100 Most Famous People of the Chemal District – 2013”. Archived OK profile, mailbox.
Sapunov Alexey Valentinovich, born December 16, 1986 in Tolyatti city, personal number M-2089, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Photos from the period of the conscript military service.
Svetkin Yegor Vladimirovich, born March 20, 1986 in Tolyatti, personal number M-0823, driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
On social networks uses a nick Gosha Valin (his wife’s name is Valentina). It is interesting that his mother Irina posted on her page a news story about a tank battle in Syria, apparently worrying about her son. Svetkin’s VK and FB pages are not very informative.
Shakirov Rinat Zinurovich, born July 24, 1977, personal number M-0824, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC. Probably, has a criminal conviction (source).
Also featured in the data of the SBU briefing.
VK and OK profiles are not very informative.
Yesaliev Murat Khaydarovich, born February 09, 1989 in Astrakhan city, personal number M-2234, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC. Participated in the annexation of Crimea in the ranks of the Russian Army’s invasion force. As of May 2015, he served under a contract (source). In August 2016, he was listed as a contract officer at the military unit #20264 based in Astrakhan (source). Juryman candidate in the Volodarsky district of Astrakhan Oblast (source). On August 16, 2016 sentenced to community work for perjuring in court (source). In the period from December 2017 to February 2018 he was as a defendant in the court of the Volodarsky district of the Astrakhan Oblast (source). He also features in the data from the SBU briefing. Archived VK, VK2, OK profiles.
Koshatko Nikolay Vitalievich, born February 16, 1995, in Blagoveshchensk city, personal number M-2044, driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC. Since 2017, he became a student of the Amur College of Construction, Housing and Communal Services.
Zinchenko Sviatoslav Viktorovich, born August 16, 1988 in Moscow, personal number M-0817, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
In the period from 2009 to 2010, he served in the 22nd Special Forces Brigade of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).
Titov Vladimir Vladimirovich, born December 17, 1970 in Kaliningrad, personal number M-0807, commander of the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Archived VK, OK profiles.
Potynga Bogdan Sergeevich, born August 17, 1993 in the village of Medvedovskaya, Krasnodar Krai, personal number M-1388, driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Photos from the period of the conscript military service. On this photo he is on the left.
Zhelyasko Vladimir Valerievich, born May 12, 1974 in Kovrov, personal number M-1712, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Archived VK, VK2, OK profiles.
Chemeris Andrey Petrovich, born April 13, 1983 in Crimea, personal number M-2288, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Yaninov Alexey Sergeevich, born October 08, 1988 in Gorno-Altaisk city, personal number M-1555, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC. Has several charges for drunk driving (source, source). In 2016, Sberbank of Russia sued Yaninov to collect arrears under a loan agreement.
Mashkov Vladimir Sergeevich, born April 06, 1985 in Oktyabrskoye village, Voronezh Oblast, personal number M-0811, driver-mechanic in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Archived OK, OK2, OK3, VK profiles.
Avdienko Dmitry Pavlovich, born March 05, 1985, in Kurgan city, personal number M-0602, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC. He was awarded a Medal For Courage, the certificate was signed personally by V. Putin. In the comments, he mentions that it is “for the airport”, probably meaning the battle for the Luhansk airport in which Wagner PMC took part. This version is indirectly confirmed by a video posted in his social media account captioned “HOW OUR BATTALON WENT TO TAKE THE AIRPORT IN LUHANSK”.
Plakhov Mikhail Gennadievich, born May 07, 1974 in Fokino city, Primorsky Krai, personal number M-0815, commander of a tank platoon in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
On this photo at the familiar road sign near Rostov we see Plakhov, Titov and on the right – Sergey Kim, the head of the operations department of Wagner PMC, he featured earlier in our investigation Failed offensive at Deir Ezzor was planned by Wagner PMC Chief of Operations Sergei Kim.
Koryaga Peter Alexandrovich, born October 16, 1983 in Vladivostok city, personal number M-0868, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC. Participated in hostilities in Donbas.
Archived ОК, ОК2, VK profiles.
Luhansk, Ukraine
Guryev Vitaly Anatolyevich, born November 23, 1977 in Anapa city, personal number M-0809, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC.
Archived VK profile.
In his photo album, there is a telling photo of the Russian Ural-4320 with YaMZ diesel engine, which indicates Guriev’s participation in the hostilities in Donbas in August 2014.
Twin brothers Zhdanov Kirill Viktorovich, personal number M-0821, gunner in the tank company of Wagner PMC and Zhdanov Sergey Victorovich, personal number M-0819, tank commander in the tank company of Wagner PMC, both born October 21, 1988 in Abinsk city, Krasnodar Krai. Both graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School in 2010. On social media, they from time to time re-post videos of tank battles.
Archived social media profiles of Kirill VK, OK; and Sergey VK, VK2, OK, OK2.
Conclusion
The Kremlin uses Wagner PMC as an element of Russia’s hybrid war in Ukraine, Syria, and in the near future, might deploy it in the Balkans. To give this guise of a PMC some legitimacy, there are some international mercenaries assembled at Wagner, but the core of this structure is made the retired Russian servicemen who take orders from the Russian military command. They are trained on the grounds of the 10th Special Forces Brigade of the GRU and receive departmental awards signed personally by Vladimir Putin. The Wagnerites provided cover for the regular units of the Russian army in the battles for Debaltseve and Luhansk airport, and also carried out various special assignments in Donbas. The range of their tasks included also the elimination of defiant militant warlords (so-called “field commanders”). They receive heavy armament and equipment directly from the storage bases of the Russian Ministry of Defense. They are distinguished from the “regular servicemen of the Russian Federation” only by the wording in the contract, the size of salary and the ease with which Moscow can dump them.
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