Russian mercenary group Wagner in 2022 signed a contract with a Chinese firm to acquire two satellites and use their images, aiding its intelligence work as the organization sought to push Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a document seen by reporters.
The contract was signed in November last year, over half a year into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in which the Wagner group under its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was playing a key role on the battlefield.
The satellite images were also used to assist Wagner's operations in Africa and even its failed mutiny in June, which has led now to the de-facto break up of the group followed by the death of Prigozhin and other key figures in an air crash in August, a European security source said.