BILL GERTZ: Mercenaries Killed in Syria Were Part of Russian-Backed Hybrid Force.

The dead fighters worked for the Wagner company, part of Moscow’s use of hybrid warfare—covert military and influence operations that include use of so-called “little green men”—unconventional forces operating without official insignia. The forces were first seen in 2014 during the military takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea by Russia.

“They are a private army,” said Vasyl Hrytsak, head of Security Service of Ukraine, known as SBU, in a recent interview.

Ukraine believes the Wagner company was formed, equipped, and financed by Russian intelligence services for military, terrorist, and other criminal activities in support of Russian geopolitical interests.

The two big advantages of using sub-state actors are plausible deniability and giving state actors pause before — or if — they take any action against them. On the flip side, when a state actor gives the go-ahead and dozens of your mercenaries get blown up, you can’t exactly get in a big diplomatic (or military) huff about it.

Uniforms, ranks, controlling legal authority and all the rest separate soldiers from mercenaries and terrorists. Treat enemy mercenaries more like terrorists and less like soldiers, and I suspect we’ll see less of this kind of subterfuge.