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Isenberg Video
- Here and There with Dave Marash, February 3, 2015
- Sep. 2, 2014 Al Jazeera English segment on Blackwater trial - Comment by David Isenberg
- Jan 2, 2010, Al Jazzeera (English), re Judge Urbina’s dismissal of charges against Blackwater contractors
- June 28, 2010. heard in “Controversy over CIA Blackwater contract,” The World
- August 17, 2010, on C-Span III, speaks on private military contracting
- Examining the role of the military contractor
- Has the Privatization of National Security Gone Too Far? The Future of Military Contracting, November 14, 2008, 9:30-11:00am, New America Foundation
- David Isenberg on PressTV - US contractor with poor ratings hired again
- Outsourcing War and Peace – Video
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Tag Archives: Russia
Russia Recruits Mercenaries From Foreign Tourists for Fighting Against Ukraine
The victims are forced to choose between deportation with debt, imprisonment, or signing a contract with the Russian Armed Forces—the terms of which they often do not understand due to the language barrier. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Mercenaries, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Mercenaries, Russia, Ukraine
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In the Sumy region, the Main Intelligence Directorate identified a Russian mercenary from Mauritius who had been killed
The Main Intelligence Directorate reported that Prakash was born on April 16, 1995. He arrived in Russia on June 22, 2025, allegedly as a tourist, and was supposed to return to Africa on July 21, but remained in the aggressor country. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
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Russian Officer Says Cuban Mercenaries Abandon Positions When Capture Threatens
Rizvan Sabirov, a platoon commander with Russia’s Center group of forces, said Cuban mercenaries fighting alongside the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Dnepropetrovsk Region abandon their positions when they face the threat of encirclement or capture. According to him, the «soldiers of fortune» do not try to hold their ground to the end. Continue reading
Wagner’s Remnants Are Running an Opioid Empire in the Center of Africa
After years of setbacks, the trade has given Wagner fresh impetus after its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash and much of its operations absorbed into the Russian state. Up to 500 of its members remain far up the Oubangui River in the Central African Republic, where their control over the tramadol trade is enabling them to exploit the country’s rich timber and gold resources. The Global Initiative estimates that Wagner earns $180 million a year from its illicit gold exports there. The trafficking of the painkiller to neighboring countries is providing an additional revenue stream. Continue reading
The Main Intelligence Directorate has revealed the stories of two mercenaries from Cameroon whom Russia sent to carry out suicide attacks
The Main Intelligence Directorate reported that one of them was 23-year-old Ngulure Ibrahim Nkite, who arrived in Russia in February 2026 and signed a one-year contract to serve as a rifleman in April. After brief training, he was deployed to the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk Oblast, where, according to preliminary data, he was killed around May 12 during an assault in the Lyman area of Donetsk Oblast.
The second mercenary killed was 25-year-old Tapinjeu Namekong Loik, who had been studying at Michurinsk State Agrarian University in the Russian Federation. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), he was recruited into the Russian army and signed his contract in March 2026 in Vologda. Around April 23, the Cameroonian was killed near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
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Posted in Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Casualties, Cuba, Russia, Ukraine
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Wagner’s remnants run an opioid empire in the Central African Republic, WSJ reveals
Remnants of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group have built a drug empire in the Central African Republic on the painkiller tramadol — a fief beyond the reach of law enforcement or even Moscow itself, the Wall Street Journal reported. Up to 500 mercenaries remain along the upper Oubangui River, led by Pavel Prigozhin, son of the group’s late founder. Their control of the opioid trade now funds weapons, militias, and a deepening grip on the country. Continue reading
Russian Forces Thwart Colombian Mercenary Counterattack in Kharkov
Russian forces reportedly repelled a Colombian mercenary counterattack in the Kharkov Region, destroying most of the assault group as others retreated.
Russian forces repelled a counterattack involving Colombian mercenaries in the Kharkov Region, according to a source in Russia’s security agencies.
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Posted in Colombia, Mercenaries, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Colombia, Mercenaries, Russia, Ukraine
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Elena Smirnova
From March 2023, Smirnova used social media – posting under her maiden name Shuvalova – to recruit Cuban and Sri Lankan nationals for the Russian military. The ads offered well-paid civilian work in Russia: a one-time payment, a monthly salary of 204,000 rubles (~$2,000 USD), and the long-term prospect of Russian citizenship. In Cuba, where average monthly wages are around $30, this was a life-changing sum for anyone who believed it. Continue reading
Kenya’s Official: 289 Kenyans Were Recruited into Russia’s Military. 69 Are Dead or Missing. Over 150 Are Still Unaccounted For
Kenya’s Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu has given the clearest official account yet of the scale of Kenyan involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Speaking on Radio Generation on Wednesday July 15, 2026, Njogu said government records show 289 Kenyans have at some point been recruited into Russia’s armed forces. Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Africa, Casualties, Russia, Ukraine
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Bolivia Held a Wake Without Bodies. The Families of Two Men Recruited for Russia’s War Are Still Waiting for Answers
A symbolic wake was held this week in the Radial 17½ neighbourhood of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Photographs of Iván Valdivia, 28, and José María Soleto Ayala, 29 – cousins – sat surrounded by flowers and candles. There were no coffins. There were no remains. The families are still waiting for official confirmation that the two men are dead, and for any indication that their government intends to help bring them home. Continue reading
Posted in Casualties, Latin America, Russia, Ukraine
Tagged Casualties, Latin America, Russia, Ukraine
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