Fakel (company) explained

Unit Name:Fakel
Native Name:Russian: факел
Dates:2023 – present
Country:Russia
Allegiance:Russia
Type:Russian irregular units
PMC (allegedly)
Specialization:-->
Command Structure:Ministry of Defence (Russia)
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Battles:2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Fakel (Russian: факел||Torch) is a private military company which is currently deployed by Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1]

History

Fakel was founded in 2023 by the Russian state run gas monopoly Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Neft,[2] as a more loyal alternative for the Wagner Group, which at the time had just begun clashing with Russian high command on issues of supplies and tactics.[3] The group was founded alongside two other Gazprom PMCs, Plamya and Potok.[4] Fakel and Plamya reportedly are directly subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defence, while Potok joined Redut PMC, a PMC which is also controlled by the Russian MoD.[5] [6] [7]

Fakel, and the other Gazprom run companies, have their recruiting base as Gazprom employees, promising them that while they are away on tour in Ukraine, that their positions at work would be guaranteed for their return. A large contingent of the fighters are from Gazprom's security guards. Fakel is also the name of a bi-annual Gazprom corporate talent competition, a big festival in which teams of musical performers of all ages compete for prizes, with the logo for the competition being very similar to the logo used by the PMC. Fakel is also the name of the company's semi-professional table tennis team. Although the company has no official political affiliation, several of its members support the Pravaya Rossiya far-right party led by Georg Borovikov seeking the restoration of the Russian Empire, which has stated that they are one of Fakel's patrons. Additional, several members of the company on Telegram stated they were fighting to restore the Empire.[8]

Yevgeny Prigozhin has been critical of Fakel, seeing the organization as competition for his Wagner group.[9] Prigozhin claims that Fakel saw combat in the Battle of Bakhmut, where they were tasked with covering Wagner's flanks, and failed to do so resulting in a successful Ukrainian flanking maneuver that resulted in a large amount of Wagner casualties. Prigozhin claimed the unit had poor training and supplies, and a lack of any "tactical-level commanders."[10] The unit has also seen combat in the Battle of Soledar.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Endo . Ryosuke . Rise of Russian Private Military Companies Foreshadows Upheaval to Come . JapanForward . 12 June 2023 . 8 July 2023.
  2. Web site: Hird . Karolina . Bailey . Riley . Wolkov . Nicole . Philipson . Layne . Kagan . Frederick W. . Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 26, 2023 . 8 July 2023 . Institute for the Study of War.
  3. Web site: Askew . Joshua . Everyone is talking about Wagner. But who are Russia's other mercenaries? . . 16 May 2023 . . 8 July 2023.
  4. Web site: Hird . Karolina . Bailey . Riley . Wolkov . Nicole . Philipson . Layne . Kagan . Frederick W. . Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 26, 2023 . . 8 July 2023.
  5. Web site: Kossov . Igor . Army of hired guns: How Russia's 'PMCs' are becoming the main invasion force . . 4 May 2023 . 8 July 2023.
  6. Web site: AFU Capture First Mercenary From PMC 'Gazprom' . . 8 July 2023.
  7. Web site: Matthews . Owen . The Wagner Group isn't Russia's only private army . . 28 June 2023 . 8 July 2023.
  8. Web site: Ivanova . Polina . Miller . Christopher . Seddon . Max . 'Stream' and 'Torch': the Gazprom-backed militias fighting in Ukraine . . 8 July 2023.
  9. Web site: Hlushchenko . Olha . ISW says competition between Russian PMCs is growing in Bakhmut . . 8 July 2023.
  10. Web site: Nuzhnenko . Serhii . It's not just Wagner At least three Gazprom-linked private military companies now have fighters in Ukraine . . . 8 July 2023.