The anonymous source familiar with the issue, who closely follows Russia's military presence in Ukraine, told MEE that in addition to the Siloviki, imprisoned members of organised crime syndicates, especially the Chechen mafia, were recruited by unnamed mercenary units affiliated with Wagner and some oligarchs. In most penal colonies, according to Verstka, about 20 percent of convicts accepted Wagner’s offer. Recruiters offered inmates up to 200,000 roubles ($3,341) and amnesty in exchange for going to the front for six months. The investigative outlet Verstka and Russia Behind Bars said that by mid-August Wagner representatives had visited 21 Russian penal colonies in 13 regions. Romanova claims that Prigozhin could easily recruit 50,000 to 60,000 criminals in the near future.

Syrian fighters participated in Wagner Group massacres in Central African Republic Read More » The source added that the Russian prisoners claiming to be freed inmates are mostly troops seized after being left behind by their forces, and appear to have no combat experience.Ī Ukrainian official told MEE that Kyiv could not comment on the issue due to ongoing operations. 'They usually drive these people to the front as bait,” the second source said. “We know that 500 to 600 prisoners were collected and brought from Russia in this way in the last months.' The source also said his unit, which is participating in the steamrolling Ukrainian counteroffensive around Kherson and Kharkiv, has in recent days come across Russian troops with no military experience.Ī second source familiar with the issue told MEE that Wagner has given its worst equipment to the prisoners it brought to fight in Ukraine. “The majority of the former Russian prisoners fighting in Ukraine have been convicted of military crimes, or involved in military crimes, or those who did not obey orders,” the source added. The source said in total around 400 Russians have been captured in recent weeks, and as their interrogations were conducted by Ukrainian officials, available information on the captives was limited. We know that 500 to 600 prisoners were brought from Russia in this way in the last months'

'They usually drive these people to the front as bait. One foreign volunteer fighting for Ukraine, speaking anonymously, told MEE that many Wagner mercenaries have been taken prisoner recently, and about 30 of them were Russians who used to be inmates. It has allegedly committed abuses in Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic. Wagner, an opaque amalgamation of shadowy firms and contractors, is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin through his close associate Yevgeny Prigozhin. Wagner, a paramilitary firm employed by Russia’s government to fight in conflicts from Mali to Syria, has reportedly been recruiting Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, to alleviate the troop shortages in Moscow’s ranks. Some of the criminals that the Wagner Group private military company has recruited from Russian prisons have already been captured in Ukraine, sources have told Middle East Eye.

Russian Prison Mafia