Signed with the SS symbol and greeted with the word 'Heil': Media reveal shocking details about Wagner mercenaries' Chief Commander Utkin

Dmitry Utkin, the first commander of Yevgeny Prigozhin's private military company, who used the call sign "Wagner" at the beginning of his mercenary career, uses the "zig" runes (two lightning bolts, the SS sign) as one of his signature variants and probably has Nazi tattoos. In addition, he uses the address "Heil Petrovich", referring to the owner of the PMC Prigozhin.

Details about Utkin were shared by the Dossier Centre. Investigators tried to establish facts from the military man's biography, paying special attention to his views (to watch the video, scroll to the end).

The journalists learned that one of the top commanders of the Wagner Group was born on June 11, 1970, in Asbestos, Sverdlovsk Oblast, RSFSR. He finished school in Ukraine, in the village of Smolino in the Kirovohrad region, where he moved with his mother.

As late as 2017, Utkin's mother lived in Smolino, in an ordinary apartment in a Soviet five-storey building.

After school, Utkin entered a military school (presumably the Kirov Higher Combined Arms Command School) in Leningrad.

According to Censor.net, the soldier did not live in Smolino after school, although he sometimes visited. The media outlet's interlocutors recounted rumours that his two children from different wives live in the village.

"Censor.net also wrote that Utkin allegedly visited his mother in 2016, when the fighting was already ongoing in southeastern Ukraine and he was in command of a unit of Russian mercenaries.

Utkin retired in 2012 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, but continued to make a living in the military. At first, he joined the Russian PMC Moran Security Group (based abroad), and in the early summer of 2014, Prigozhin's private military company was born. Initially, it was referred to by the call sign of Utkin's commander, Wagner.

"Before he met Prigozhin, according to Dossier's interlocutors, Utkin had received at most one award - the Order of Courage. By the end of 2016, he had four Orders of Courage on his chest, and Vladimir Putin received him in the Kremlin. Soon, Utkin became a hero of Russia," the article says.

It is noteworthy that the call sign of the soldier, Wagner, is dedicated to the name of Adolf Hitler's favourite composer.

There is also a photo on the network where a man resembling Utkin is depicted with tattoos or drawings on his body in the form of SS Obersturmbannführer loops and the Wehrmacht emblem. In another photo, someone in profile resembling Utkin is wearing a bergmütte (a German military hat) with an SS eagle.

On some of the documents, Utkin signs his initials "D.A.", on others, he signs the SS sign and the zig runes. In many countries, including Russia and Germany, the use of the image of the double rune "zig" outside of a scientific or educational context is prosecuted.

Interestingly, on one of the documents Utkin wrote: "I don't give a f*ck who believes in what. Everyone came to the company to work and make money!"

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the Institute for War Studies believes that Yevgeny Prigozhin allegedly wants to take control of the A Just Russia - For Truth party. It is possible that he has set his sights on a leadership position in the St. Petersburg branch of the party in order to compete with his long-time opponent, St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov, for influence in the city.

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