Wagner Group
Russian private military company, now largely folded into state structures.
Two men were charged over RAF Fairford on 27 October 2026 under the National Security Act. The first convictions under that law were of the organisers of an arson that Wagner commissioned at a Leyton warehouse.
Last refreshed: 29 October 2026
Timeline for Wagner Group
Commissioned the Leyton warehouse arson
Iran Conflict 2026: Mentioned in: CPS charges two men over RAF FairfordMentioned in: Russians named in IRGC arms network
Iran Conflict 2026Background
The Wagner Group is a Russian private military company that first appeared during Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea and later fought for Russian interests in Ukraine and Africa. After Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny in June 2023 and his death that August, its units were absorbed into state structures, including the Defence Ministry's Africa Corps. The UK proscribed it as a terrorist group in September 2023.
Its name runs through UK national-security law. Men it recruited burned a Ukraine-linked warehouse in Leyton in March 2024. The two organisers were the first people convicted under the National Security Act 2023, and three more were found guilty at the Old Bailey in July 2025. That case is the precedent for later prosecutions under the act. The Fairford charges of 27 October 2026 are the newest.
US sanctions have also named people tied to its gold networks in Sudan and the Central African Republic. The Treasury's 15 July 2026 action against an arms network supplying Iran's Revolutionary Guard marked the first time that track named Russians.
Is the Wagner Group banned in the UK?
What happened to the Wagner Group after Prigozhin died?
What was the Leyton warehouse arson?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 29 October 2026. Editorial standards.