According to yesterday’s claim by the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia is increasingly using “convicts and blacklisted individuals” to fill vacancies in its frontline military.
Since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, 50,000 Russian soldiers are believed to have been killed, injured, or taken prisoner. The Kremlin has hired the Wagner Group, a mercenary company, to provide soldiers.
However, as a result of the conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, even the group’s resources are becoming scarce. Russia has expanded its territory, but at a high price. The fighting has caused the group to sustain significant losses, the MoD stated yesterday.
‘Wagner are lowering recruitment standards, hiring convicts and formerly blacklisted individuals while very limited training is available to new recruits.
‘This will highly likely impact on the future operational effectiveness of the group and will reduce its value as a prop to the regular Russian forces.’
It comes as a video shows the moment prisoners from a bleak Russian jail are recruited to fight in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The prisoners are led outside of their confinement to enlist in Wagner’s private army in order to strengthen Moscow’s armed forces.
In exchange for freedom from the penal colony and an amnesty, some 300 prisoners from the prison in the poor Republic of Adygea in Russia chose to join the front lines of combat.
An inmate captured the meeting between detainees and Wagner representatives on tape. Wagner collaborates closely with the Russian defense ministry and the FSB security force.
Critics see the recruitment of prisoners as ‘frontline cannon fodder’ as a sign of desperation by Russia.
A source told prison rights group gulagu.net: ‘It was on 7 July 2022 at Colony N1.
‘Inmates are waiting for a chat with Wagner Group recruiters.
‘About 300 inmates agreed to go.’
On the video, voices are heard saying: ‘F****** hell, so many people.’
This jail has 1,350 convicts including murderers.