Russia and Slavonic Corps Utkin served as the commander of the 700th Separate Special Detachment of the 2nd Separate Special Brigade of the Russian
GRU military intelligence service, stationed in
Pechory,
Pskov Oblast, until 2013. After leaving the military, in 2013 Utkin began working for the Moran Security Group, a private company founded by Russian military veterans, which was involved in security and training missions worldwide, and specializes in security against piracy. The same year, senior Moran Security Group managers were involved in setting up the Hong Kong-based
Slavonic Corps, which headhunted contractors to "protect oil fields and pipelines" in Syria during its civil war. Utkin was deployed in Syria as a member of the Slavonic Corps, surviving its disastrous mission. Utkin returned to Moscow in October 2013. Russia's
Federal Security Service in November 2013 arrested some members of the Slavonic Corps for illegal mercenary activity.
Wagner Group Almost immediately after returning to Russia, Utkin reportedly created his own mercenary group. The group's name, the Wagner Group, is a reference to the
call-sign Utkin was using at the time, "Wagner", which is itself a reference to German composer
Richard Wagner (see
political and racial views).
Gazeta.ru reported that Utkin and his men could have been involved in the killing of several field commanders of the self-proclaimed
Luhansk People's Republic. Turkish newspaper
Yeni Şafak reported that Utkin was possibly a figurehead for the company, while the real head of Wagner was someone else. Utkin was seen in the
Kremlin during the celebration of
Fatherland's Heroes Day on 9 December 2016. He attended the celebration as a laureate of four
Orders of Courage, and was photographed with the
President of Russia,
Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary for the Russian President, admitted that Utkin was among the invitees, but did not comment on his connection with the mercenaries.
RBK reported that after completing training in
Krasnodar Krai, Utkin and his men returned to
Syria in 2015. Soon after the start of
Russian aerial strikes in Syria, reports emerged of the deaths of Russian mercenaries fighting on the ground. Several images spread in social media apparently depicting armed Russian men killed during the
Battle of Palmyra in March 2016. In June 2017, Utkin ordered that a
Syrian deserter be tortured and bludgeoned to death on camera. The Wagner Group had an important role in the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. By this time, it was reported that Utkin was Wagner's behind-the-scenes military commander, responsible for overseeing its military operations, while Prigozhin was its owner, financier and public face. == Sanctions ==