Latest updates on the war in Ukraine as 16 killed in Kherson on Christmas Eve; explosions' heard in Kyiv after air raid sirens sound. Listen to the latest episode of Ukraine War Diaries while you scroll.
Vladimir Putin has said the group does not represent Russia, but that private military contractors have the right to work anywhere in the world as long as they do not break Russian law.
US intelligence indicates Wagner has played a major role in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and has suffered heavy casualties there with about 1,000 Wagner fighters killed in recent weeks.