Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Initial Fact Pattern
- Context: The Strategic Logic of Russian PMSC Operations in Syria
- Investigation Redux: New Videos Appear and with Them a New Mystery
- Syria’s Energy Protection Racket: Digging into Wagner Group Social Networks
- Conclusion: From War Crime to Internet Meme
- Appendix A: Research Methodology
- Appendix B: Breakdown of Reported Russian PMSC Areas of Operations and Projects as of June 2019
Appendix B: Breakdown of Reported Russian PMSC Areas of Operations and Projects as of June 2019
The chart below (Table A) provides a basic overview of the areas of operation where so-called Wagner Group operatives provided security services in Syria. As indicated in widespread reporting by international press, the primary mission of many of the Russian PMSC contingents posted in Syria during Syria’s civil war was twofold: first, to protect energy industry infrastructure; and second, to train local militia and military units to fulfill offensive and defensive military missions that primarily covered areas in Homs, Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor governorates. Information about the placement of Wagner operativaves and Syrian militia counterparts was provided during Skype interviews conducted in the summer of 2019 with several Syrian energy and construction industry contractors based in the country. Additional details about specific project sites, parent company investors, and parent company executive leadership were cross-verified through a review of press reports as well as sanctions notices issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control and reported on by the Congressional Research Service as of January 17, 2020.
Table A- Russian PMSC Operations in Syria Company, Project, Local Militia Affiliation1
| Reported PMSC Operator | Wagner | Wagner | Wagner | Wagner | Patriot |
| Reported Affiliated Local Force | 5th Corps | 5th Corps | 5th Corps | ISIS Hunters | Unknown/Unverified |
| Provincial Area of Operation | Deir Ezzor | Deir Ezzor, Homs, Banias | Homs | Deir Ezzor | Tartus |
| District Area of Operation | South Kishma Oil Field | Deir Ezzor, Homs, Banias | Homs | Aleppo, Homs | Banias |
| Project | Oil Field Development | Kirkuk-Banias Pipeline | Hayan Block | Power Stations | Oil Port |
| Project Parent Investor | [JSC Tatneft](https://www.tatneft.ru/?lang=en) | [Stroytrangaz](http://www.stroytransgaz.ru/) | [Stroytrangaz](http://www.stroytransgaz.ru/) | [TechnoPromxExport](http://tpe-ik.ru/) | [StroyTransGaz](http://www.stroytransgaz.ru/en/structure/aostg/) |
| Project Status | Initiated: 2010; Reactivated: 2017 | Initiated: 2007; Reactivated: 2010 | Initiated: 2007-2008; Reactivated: 2016 | Initiated: 2018 | Initiated: 2017 |
| Parent Investor Origins | Almetyevsk, Russia | Moscow, Russia | Moscow, Russia | Moscow, Russia | Moscow, Russia |
| Key Company Parent Execs. | Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov | Gennady Timchenko (Volga Group) | Gennnady Timchenko (Volga Group) | Sergey Takoev | Gennady Timchenko (Volga Group) |
| Company /Leadership Sanctioned by U.S.?(Yes/No) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Citations
- Sources for and notes regarding information in Table A include: Congressional Research Service, “U.S. Sanctions on Russia,” (R45415), Jan. 17, 2020. source ; Tatneft website project page confirms signed contracts in Syria and Libya: source See also: Tatneft, Press Release, “TATNEFT Begins Oil Production in Syria,” April 14, 2010. source ; archived version: source ; The South Kishma Oil Field contract was temporarily suspended at the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011. See: Reuters, “Russian Oil Firm Tatneft Halts Work in Syria,” Dec. 23, 2011. source ; PJSC Tatneft confirmation of Minnikhanov as Chairmen of Board of Directors source ; Minnikhanov leading recent PJSC Tatneft board meeting dually as President of Tatarstan source ; Press reports variously attribute the Kirkuk-Banias project to Gazprom and Gazprom’s onetime subsidiary StroyTransGaz (STG). Since STG is currently considered an independent entity in which Gazprom holds interest, news reports generally refer to STG as the primary contractor for the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline. See: Pipelines International, “The Kirkuk-Banias Pipeline,” March 28, 2011. source ; and Diyari Salih, “Russia and the Geopolitics of the Kirkuk-Banias Pipeline,” The Geopolitics, Sept. 29, 2019. source ; U.S. Department of Treasury, OFAC, Press Release, “Sanctions Target Seven Russian Government Officials, Including Members of the Russian Leadership’s Inner Circle, and 17 Entities,” April 28, 2014. source ; OFAC sanctions listing for Timchenko: source ; OFAC sanctions listing for Volga Group source ; TechnoPromExport involvement in Syria source ; The proposed reconstruction of thermal power plants in Syria is part of a larger schema for Russian-Syrian cooperation envisioned for the post-conflict rehabilitation roadmap for Syria’s energy industry and infrastructure. Technopromexport is a subsidiary of state-backed Rostec; and the U.S. sanctioned Technopromexport in 2018 in connection with activities in the disputed territory of Crimea. U.S. Department of Treasury, Press Release, “Treasury Sanctions Additional Individuals and Entities in Connection with the Conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s Occupation of Crimea,” Jan. 26, 2018. source See also: Reuters, “Russia's Technopromexport may rebuild four Syrian power plants – TASS,” February 2, 2018. source ; TechnoPromExport confirmation of Takoev as General Director source