Russia vs Wagner group: How the two militaries match up

The Wagner group’s recent march to Moscow sent shockwaves around the world before Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko intervened to bring an end to the rebellion in Russia.

The march, termed as an ‘armed mutiny’ by Russian President Vladimir Putin, threatened to send the world’s largest country into a civil war that could have had dire consequences for the world.

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Even though the situation has returned to normal in Russia, there is no guarantee that tensions will not flare up later. After reports emerged that Putin had decided to not take any action against Wagner group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, today, a newspaper, Kommersant, and Russia's three main news agencies reported that his actions are being probed.

In case things go wrong again, it's worth examining how the Wagner group's forces match up to the mighty Russian army.

Numbers

Wagner group: The Wagner group started off as a pro-Russian group with only around 5,000 soldiers but it has grown significantly since then. As per the estimates of the UK government’s ministry of defence, it has around 50,000 fighters, an overwhelming majority of them prisoners and with most of them deployed in the Ukraine war.

While estimates exist about the total strength of the Wagner group, there was no clarity as to how many soldiers were part of the march that took place on Saturday.

Russia: The Russian army is the fifth largest army in the world with an estimated 1 million active service members. However, as per estimates of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), around 30,000 are fighting in Ukraine. Russia claims that most of its fighters in Ukraine are volunteers.

Western estimates, meanwhile, put the number of soldiers Russia has lost in the Ukraine war at 100,000.

Weaponry

Wagner group: Most of the weapons used by the Wagner group are of Russian make. However, last year, the US had claimed that North Korea had supplied the group with some weapons. The Wagner group rejects this claim.

The Russian state also reportedly destroyed some of the group's ammunition reserves during Saturday's march to Moscow.

Russia: The Russia army has access to a massive stockpile of weapons dating back to the Soviet era. Its arsenal consists of mines, tanks, military vehicles, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, submachine guns, assault rifles, and many other advanced pieces of military equipment.