A document obtained by AFP reveals that in 2022, the Russian mercenary group Wagner signed a contract with a Chinese firm to acquire two satellites for intelligence purposes.
The contract, signed in November 2022, specified that Beijing Yunze Technology Co Ltd sold two high-resolution observation satellites belonging to Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST) to Nika-Frut, a company associated with Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The contract, valued at over $30 million, included the satellites and additional services. The satellite images obtained were reportedly used to assist Wagner’s activities in Ukraine, Africa, and even during a failed mutiny in June 2023 that led to the de facto breakup of the group.
The contract allowed Wagner to obtain satellite pictures on demand, covering areas where its mercenaries were active, including Ukraine and various African countries. The contract also reportedly included ordering images of Russian territory in May 2023 along the route from the Ukrainian border to Moscow, which was seized by Wagner’s forces during the brief mutiny in June.
Although the contract doesn’t explicitly mention ordering images of Russian territory, reports suggest that Western intelligence services, including those in France and the United States, had prior knowledge of the mutiny. The failed mutiny marked a definitive break between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, who later died in an air crash in August 2023.
