Israel: Flag of Russian mercenary Wagner Group raised in Tel Aviv

A flag representing the Russian mercenary Wagner Group was seen raised in Israel’s central city of Tel Aviv on Monday, prompting condemnation from the Ukrainian embassy in the Jewish state.

The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organization led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close confidant of Russia's President Vladimir Putin. The group is variously described as a private military company (PMC), a network of mercenaries, or a de facto private army of Putin — operating beyond the law in Russia, where PMCs are officially forbidden.

The flag was hoisted on a crane at a construction site. Authorities have yet to identify the person who raised it, but it is assumed that it was someone who had access to the site, possibly a member of the construction crew.

“We are deeply shocked to see the flag of the Russian terrorist organization raised in Tel Aviv,” Ukraine’s Embassy in Israel said in a statement sent to i24NEWS. “The same organization, whose members are executing war prisoners, killing and raping children and women, and committing war crimes on a daily basis.”

“We urge the local authorities immediately to remove the flag of the Wagner terrorist group from the area of Tel Aviv,” it added.

Wagner has been accused of committing human rights abuses in various regions where it allegedly has operations, including in Ukraine as part of Russia’s invasion, as well as in the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. 

The European Union, France, and the United Kingdom are mulling considering Wagner a terror organization.

Earlier this year, the United States designated the paramilitary force a “transnational criminal organization” that commits “widespread atrocities.” In September 2022, the United Kingdom also launched an inquiry into the use of PMCs – particularly the Wagner Group – as proxies. The probe was meant to identify the use of such PMCs to destabilize “fragile countries.”