A Russian mercenary group linked to the President Wladimir Putin urges prisoners to fight on the Ukrainian front while Moscow suffers severe setbacks.
What happened: Wagner groupA Russian private military company linked to atrocities in different parts of the world is hunting over 1,500 convicted criminals to join Russia’s war in Ukraine, but many are refusing to join, according to a senior anonymous US official.
“Our information indicates that Wagner suffered heavy casualties in Ukraine, particularly and unsurprisingly among young and inexperienced fighters,” the US official told Reuters reported.
Although the Kremlin has always distanced itself from the group, he said it does not represent the Russian state. However, she has also taken the view that private military companies have the right to operate anywhere in the world as long as they do not violate Russian law.
The US official’s comments came after a recent video released by Yevgeny Prigozhin — a Russian oligarch, a close confidant of Putin and linked to the Wagner group — emerged on social media. In the video, Prigozhin reportedly told inmates that they would be granted freedom if they fought in Ukraine, but would be killed if they tried to desert.
“No one goes behind bars again,” Prigozhin said in the video, according to a translation of the Wall Street Journal Yaroslav Trofimov.
“If you serve six months, you’re free. If you arrive in Ukraine and decide it’s not for you, we will execute you.”
