Mercenary Groups in Modern Warfare: The Wagner Group, Ethical and Legal Enigmas in Ukraine and Africa

Abstract

Mercenary organizations have become part and parcel of contemporary wars system. This paper elucidates the subject of the Wagner Group, being the Russian private military company which now plays an essential part in the armed conflict in Ukraine and Africa in the framework of hybrid warfare. The work also discusses how the Wagner Group works in the legal spectrum of admissibility, undermines state authority, and contributes to deterioration of the human rights situation. The coming article looks at its activities throughout the gross Ukraine’s conflict as well as during its operation in the resource-rich, violent African states in order to establish the geopolitical, legal, and ethical implications of privatized warfare. Therefore, the research recommends that there should be other International Legal Mechanisms that should be developed in order to regulate the PMCs and punt checks on their misconducts. Finally, this qualitative research illustrates the general consequences of such groups for international security, properly functioning political systems, and the system of international law in outlining suggestions of how to minimize the damaging impacts of such groups.