The war in Ukraine is seen mainly as a confrontation between two national militaries: the invading Russian armed forces and the defending Ukrainian troops, both backed and supplied by international allies.
Yet there is one shadowy but significant actor in the Ukraine war that does not fit this definition. It is the Wagner Group, a supposedly private military company (PMC) that now has on its payroll an army of some 40 "hired guns" - many former criminals - to fight inside Ukraine on Russia's behalf.
The story of the rise of the Wagner Group into the world's most influential and arguably most dangerous mercenary organisation says a great deal about the condition of today's Russia, a country where a private army is allowed to trample on existing legal order.
Regardless of how the Ukraine war concludes, we are destined to hear much more about it. Indeed, Russian President Vladimir Putin may be consumed by the monster he created.
The creation of the group is an integral part of Mr Putin's belief in the potential of "hybrid warfare", the strategy of undermining an opponent's country and seizing its territory without initially admitting any direct Russian responsibility.
The idea is not exactly new; in one way or another, many governments have used proxies for centuries. The difference is that in Mr Putin's recent playbook, the actors were essentially Russia's armed forces masquerading as supposedly independent military formations.
HYBRID WAR IN CRIMEA
These were the "Little Green Men", soldiers with no identifying markings, wearing green clothing which President Putin claimed "could be bought from any shop", who in 2014 appeared supposedly out of nowhere to seize the Crimea peninsula, until then part of Ukraine.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 14, 2023-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 14, 2023-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
RealVantage breaks down walls in real estate investing for the masses
Real estate fund targets investments in middle market real estate assets
CROATIA LIFT CONFIDENCE
They beat Portugal 2-1 away in final friendly before Euro, sending warning to Spain, Italy
Jacobs wants to go faster after retaining 100m title
Home favourite Marcell Jacobs vowed to improve his time and technique ahead of the Paris Olympics after he retained his European 100m crown in Rome as Italy basked in their bountiful weekend with five golds to surge to the top of the medal table.
Workers from dorms drinking, sleeping by roadside at night
Motorists say they endanger themselves and other road users with such behaviour
US 'standing strong' with Ukraine in Russia battle, Biden vows
In a swipe at Trump, he emphasises value of US-European alliances on state visit to France
Seoul accused of modern slavery with seasonal worker scheme
Filipino workers say brokers charged steep fees, cheated them out of promised wages
Terrorist attacks dampen Chinese interest in key corridor project with Pakistan
Political instability, economic distress in the country causing serious delays, say analysts
Proposal to allow pets on China’s trains draws cheers and jeers
Some welcome prospect of trips with pets, but others raise objections over fur, faeces
Layoff worries mount as Indonesia sees flood of illegal imports
Smuggled goods compete unfairly with locally made products, economists say
Malaysia's data centre push sparks concern over power, water usage
It could strain supplies in the coming years, particularly in industrialised states: Experts