Photograph of alleged Russian mercenaries distributed by Amaq, the Islamic State’s propaganda apparatus. /
Prigozhin explains to the inmates that those who accept his proposal will be pardoned without having to serve their sentences until the end
The so-called Private Military Company (ChVK in its Russian acronym), Wagner, has distributed a video on social networks in which the head, promoter and owner of this mercenary recruitment company, the Russian oligarch Evgueni Prigozhin, is seen in a Russian prison encouraging inmates to enlist in its ranks to go fight in the Ukraine. “I represent a private military company. You may have heard of the Wagner group. War is difficult. It is not like the war in Afghanistan or the one in Chechnya. I have an ammunition cost two and a half times higher than in Stalingrad”, says Prigozhin.
Prigozhin also informs the prisoners that those who accept his proposal will be pardoned and, after their service in Ukraine, will be released without having to serve their prison sentences until the end. Wagner’s boss, who warns that the deserters will be shot, at the end of his speech gives them only five minutes to think and say whether or not they want to enlist.
“After six months, you go home, you receive forgiveness. Those who want to stay with us, stay with us. There are no options to go back. If you arrive on the first day and say that ‘this is for me’, the deserter is marked and then we execute him », she specifies.
What can’t be done
Next, Prigozhin details the list of offenses that cannot be committed by fighters who agree to join Wagner. “The first sin is desertion. Nobody turns their back. Nobody backs down. Nobody gives up. The second sin is alcohol and drugs in the combat zone. During the six months that you are with us, you will always be in the combat zone. The third sin is looting, including sexual contacts, with women, flora, fauna, men, whatever », he details.
“The minimum age we are accepting is 22 years. If you are younger, you will need a paper signed by a family member giving their consent. The maximum age is approximately 50 years. But if you are strong, in the interview we will do some basic tests to check how strong you are. A good physical form is fundamental”, continues the boss of Wagner.
The lack of military personnel has stalled the “special military operation” in Ukraine and the Russian authorities are trying by all means to recruit soldiers, since, for the moment, the Kremlin rules out decreeing martial law and general mobilization, a measure that would force the male population of Russia to enter the ranks of the Army.
#Putins #friend #Wagner #Russian #mercenary #group #recruits #prisoners #fight #Ukraine
