Dmitry Utkin

Dmitry Utkin
Utkin's passport photo
Native name
Дмитрий Валерьевич Уткин
Born(1970-06-11)11 June 1970
Asbest, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union
Died23 August 2023(2023-08-23) (aged 53)
Kuzhenkino, Tver Oblast, Russia
Cause of deathAirplane crash
Allegiance
Service / branchGRU (1993–2013)
RankLieutenant colonel (1993–2013)
Commands
Battles / wars
AwardsOrder of Courage (4)

Dmitry Valerievich Utkin[a] (Russian: Дмитрий Валерьевич Уткин; 11 June 1970 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian military officer and mercenary. He served as a special forces officer in the GRU, where he held the rank of lieutenant colonel.[1] He was the co-founder and military commander of the Russian state-funded Wagner Group, with his military alias reportedly being Wagner.[2][3][4][5][6] Utkin was a neo-Nazi. He rarely made public appearances, but was allegedly the commander of the private military company, while Yevgeny Prigozhin was its owner and public face.[7] Utkin was awarded four Orders of Courage of Russia.

Utkin was killed on 23 August 2023 when a plane carrying him, Prigozhin and eight others crashed in Tver Oblast, leaving no survivors.[8][9]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Dettmer, Jamie (7 December 2020). "Mercenary Says Kremlin's Wagner Group Recruiting Inexperienced Fighters". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ Sukhankin, Sergey (18 December 2019). "Russian PMCs in the Syrian Civil War: From Slavonic Corps to Wagner Group and Beyond". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Wagner, shadowy Russian military group, 'fighting in Libya'". BBC News Russian (in Russian). 7 May 2020. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022.
  4. ^ Rabin, Alexander (4 October 2019). "Diplomacy and Dividends: Who Really Controls the Wagner Group". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  5. ^ Rondeaux, Candace (7 November 2019). "Tracing Wagner's Roots". New America. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. ^ Rondeaux, Candace (7 November 2019). "Forward Operations: From Deir Ezzor to Donbas and Back Again". New America. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  7. ^ "In Prigozhin's shadow, the Wagner Group leader who stays out of the spotlight". Global News. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Prigozhin confirmed dead after genetic tests – Moscow". BBC. 27 August 2023. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  9. ^ Méheut, Constant (27 August 2023). "Russia Officially Confirms Prigozhin's Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.