Wagner v Mozart: US group strikes wrong note in Ukraine

The Mozart Group, an independent American ex-military organisation founded to help Ukraine fight the Russians, is suffering from a distinct lack of harmony.

A spat of angry tweets from the group’s leaders has cast a discordant note on the efforts of the Mozart members who pride themselves on training inexperienced Ukrainian soldiers and rescuing civilians in some of the towns and cities targeted by Russian missiles and artillery.

Led by Colonel Andy Milburn, a retired US Marine Corps and special operations commander, the Mozart Group does not engage in combat but has, nevertheless, been depicted as trying to counter the Russian Wagner Group of mercenaries that is acting as a proxy force for the Kremlin.

The divisions in the group emerged when a war of words erupted between Milburn, the founder and chief executive officer, and Andy Bain, the chief financial officer.

According to Milburn, Bain impounded all of Mozart’s vehicles in Kyiv. He then refused to release them until Milburn resigned and turned over the company, a registered charity, to him or “buy him out for a sum of $5 million”.

Milburn dismissed reports that Mozart shareholders had fired him as CEO. “It’s fake news [and] the origin is Andy Bain, former CFO fired by me in December,” Milburn tweeted.

Milburn, who served in the US Marines for 31 years and finished his career commanding special operations forces against Isis in Syria, said he had sacked Bain, accusing him of financial irregularities. He claimed Bain was trying to shut down Mozart and accused him of having “extensive Russian connections”.

The Pentagon has not assisted the seemingly altruistic efforts of the Mozart Group, which is seen as adding complications to an already complex war environment.

In contrast, the Wagner Group — whose name inspired Milburn to call his organisation Mozart — has gained a reputation for ruthless assaults in Ukraine, particularly in the eastern Donbas region.

Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and close confidant of President Putin, wrote on the Telegram social media platform in November that the Mozart Group consisted of “American mercenaries”. The same day he posted the accusation, Mozart’s website was hit by a cyberattack.

Milburn denies Mozart is a private military company. “We don’t carry weapons, our tasks are humanitarian,” he has said. His organisation relies on private donations.

Mozart volunteers including British ex-military personnel have been operating in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has been targeted by the Wagner Group.

US defence sources said that one of the downsides of having an independent organisation such as Mozart in the war in Ukraine was that they had no diplomatic or official backing and could therefore not be recovered by a US military rescue team if they needed help.

“It also adds to Russia’s perception that they are at war with the West, and the US specifically, even though Mozart appears to be benevolent and are in Ukraine in a training and aid capacity,” one source said.