Overview

Sergei Chubko (call sign “Pioneer”) joined the Wagner Group in 2017 and subsequently commanded forces in various global conflict zones, including Syria, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Ukraine. Before Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death, Chubko took control of the Molkino training base in Russia. Following Prigozhin’s demise, Chubko retained his command and oversaw the relocation of Wagner forces to the new Asipovichy base in Belarus.

Chubko was born in Chernivitsi, in what is now Ukraine, before the Soviet Union’s collapse. After the Soviet Union’s dissolution, his family moved to Novorossiysk, Russia. Following his father’s example, Chubko joined the military and served in Chechnya. After his military service, Chubko worked with the Novorossiysk local administration from 2002 to 2005. He worked for Rusich, a private security company, from 2005 to 2014, which is distinct from the paramilitary formation Rusich, a Wagner Group-affiliated irregular contingent active in Ukraine. Between 2014 and 2017, before joining Wagner, Chubko served as the head of the Society of the Cossacks.

Chubko joined the Wagner Group in 2017. In 2018, he was affiliated with the “Tibet” base in Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb, and served as deputy executive director, according to Wagner Group defector Marat Gabidullin. That same year, Chubko participated in an unsuccessful assault on an oil field near Deir ez-Zor, Syria. He returned to Russia in 2020 to work for Global Link, a transport and consulting company, providing logistical and security support. In 2021, Chubko briefly returned to Syria before moving to the Central African Republic, where he served as the Wagner Group’s chief of operations from 2021 to 2023. In 2023, Chubko was appointed commander of the Molkino base. After Prigozhin’s death, he was transferred to the new Wagner command base in Asipovichy, Belarus.

As of late 2023, Chubko has not been subject to international sanctions.