Russian mercenaries attempted to buy weapons from Turkey, leaked documents reveal
Mike Brest
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The Russian mercenary organization known as the Wagner Group reached out to Turkey to buy weapons and equipment for its war in Ukraine, according to one of the recently illegally released classified U.S. documents.
This new information, gleaned from a purportedly unaltered classified document, shows the lengths the Wagner Group has gone to in attempts to improve its capabilities, specifically, in this case, reaching out to a NATO member for military assistance.
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Personnel from the Russian mercenary group met with “Turkish contacts” in early February with the plan to “purchase weapons and equipment from Turkey,” according to CNN, though it’s unclear if those “contacts” were Turkish government officials or personnel acting on their behalf. There’s no information to indicate Turkey moved forward with this plan.
The document, titled “Mali, Russia, Turkey: Vagner seeks weapons from Ankara,” suggests the United States believed the Russian mercenary outfit had at least broached the subject and that the Wager Group planned to use the weapons in Mali, where it has a footprint, as well. It also said the Wagner Group planned to restart its recruiting efforts at Russian prisons.
A National Security Council spokesman directed the Washington Examiner to the Department of Defense. A spokesperson with DOD provided the Washington Examiner with a link to Monday’s press briefing, which occurred before this detail of a possible Turkish weapons sale to the Wagner Group was reported.
Turkey, as a member of NATO, is aligned with the U.S. and other countries that have provided military assistance to Ukraine, though its relationship with Russia is closer than most others within the alliance.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has acted as a mediator between the Ukrainian and Russian governments at various points during the 14-month war, including negotiating a grain deal that allowed for Ukrainian exports to resume safe transports through the Black Sea without Russian threat.
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In January, Erdogan held separate calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
President Joe Biden said on Thursday that law enforcement is “getting close” to identifying the leaker. The person responsible for the leaks was identified as a young gun enthusiast who worked on a U.S. military base, according to the Washington Post, which interviewed a teenage member of the group where the leaker, who goes by OG, released hundreds of documents in recent weeks.