Russia’s death toll in its war on Ukraine is approaching 100,000. The Kremlin is trying to somehow fix the situation, actively recruiting convicts in both Russia and other territories to make up for manpower losses. Therefore, loads of Russian paddy wagons keep bringing convicts to the war. The entire operation is supervised by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian billionaire, founder of the notorious private military company , Wagner, who convinces his compatriots, being personally confident, too, that convicts should be «happy» to join the ranks of the Russian army. Prigozhin says that if he himself was serving time in prison, he would dream of becoming part of the Russian military team and being able to pay all dues to his homeland. Prigozhin’s covert campaign to draft Russian prisoners has been going on at least since early June, reports say. Despite assurances that it’s only those serving sentences for misdemeanors who can be contracted for service, in fact, a six-month deal is offered to pretty much anyone: murderers, rapists, pedophiles, as well as convicts with mental disorders. In exchange for joining the force, in addition to monetary allowance, convicts have a green light for absolutely anything while in Ukraine, be it looting, violence against local residents, robbery, and alcohol abuse. Desertion, however, can result in execution for such recruits. Actually, this is a rather logical replenishment for the army, which was previously famous for its crimes and is full of marauders and rapists anyway. In fact, Putin followed in Stalin’s footsteps when he restored the infamous “penal battalions” of the Second World War.
Manager and financier of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin is a longtime ally of the Russian President. Prigozhin personally recruited thousands of convicts from Russian correctional facilities to be deployed to the front lines in Ukraine. Many were serving life sentences for murder and other violent crimes. The Wagnerites have been present in Ukraine since the initial outbreak of hostilities in 2014. After the full-scale invasion late February 2022, the Wagner group boosted its presence in Donbas and other regions.
Wagner mercenaries have gained notoriety for their exceptional brutality. Back in 2017, a video circulated across social networks showing Wagner mercenaries fighting in Syria on the side of dictator Bashar al-Assad plastered a civilian man with a sledgehammer as he was lying on the ground before sawing his head off and burning the corpse – all this to some music. Now, in 2022, these mercenaries care committing war crimes on Ukrainian soil. Without the intervention of the international community and the wide exposure of war crimes by both the Russian army and the Wagner PMC, such phenomena will further gain momentum and become an even greater threat to humanity.
The fact that the Russian army has been employing exclusively terrorist tools in their warfare has long been clear to the entire civilized world. Not only are they destroying civilian infrastructure and committing genocide of Ukrainians on an ethnic basis, they are also employing in combat operations private armies, consisting of terrorists, war criminals, and convicts. The most infamous of them is PMC Wagner, led by Putin’s friend Prigozhin and is known by absolutely terrorist methods of warfare and extraordinary cruelty. Wagner is fighting not only in Ukraine, but also in other countries across the world including in Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Venezuela… Everywhere they surface, they commit horrific crimes against humanity. Exceptional cruelty and disregard for any international conventions is what distinguishes the Wagner group. Their tactics are a symbiosis of terror and war crimes. Against the background of Russia being gradually recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism, such recognition must also come for Wagner PMC, established at Putin’s suggestion. This typically terrorist private army and the recognition of its terrorist status at the official level by EU parliaments and US Congress would be another proof of support for Ukraine and a contribution to the further isolation of Russia.