Dmitry Utkin

Dmitry Valerievich Utkin (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. He was the co-founder and military commander of the Russian state-funded Wagner Group, with his military alias reportedly being Wagner. Utkin was reportedly 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. Utkin was awarded four Orders of Courage of Russia.

This article is about the Russian military officer. For the ice hockey player, see Dmitri Utkin.
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Valerievich and the family name is Utkin.

Lieutenant Colonel

Dmitry Utkin
Utkin's passport photo
Native name
Дмитрий Валерьевич Уткин
Birth nameDmitry Valerievich Utkin
Born(1970-06-11)11 June 1970
Asbest, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died23 August 2023(2023-08-23) (aged 53)
Kuzhenkino, Bologovsky District, Tver Oblast, Russia
Cause of deathAirplace crash
Allegiance
  • Russian Armed Forces (1993–2013)
  • Slavonic Corps (2013)
  • Wagner Group (2014–2023)
Service/branchGRU (1993–2013)
RankLieutenant colonel (1993–2013)
Commands held
Battles/wars
    • Syrian civil war
    • Russo-Ukrainian War
AwardsOrder of Courage (4)

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

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