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PMC, which publishes The Hollywood Reporter, has also been approached for comment.

“Write a refusal, you will go to jail, and we know where you will end up, at PMC Wagner.”

Anton Mardasov, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute's Syria Program, told the BBC last month that one group, PMC Redut, was already seeking to rival Wagner in Syria.

The flag sports a white skull surrounded by the words "PMC Wagner Group" in both English and Russian.

In a video on Monday from an unnamed African country, he said: "The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa - more free".