The Wagner group recruited tens of thousands of prisoners from Russian prisons for the fighting in Ukraine. Some now spoke about their experiences.
The most important things at a glance
They should compensate for the high losses in Ukraine: The Russian mercenary group Wagner has recruited an estimated 50,000 prison inmates in recent months. The deal: They fight in Ukraine for six months, but their remaining sentence will be waived if they survive.
The recruitment
Four of the five men told Archyde.com reporters they were recruited directly by Wagner boss Prigozhin. He had traveled from prison to prison recruiting inmates. The men said in the interviews that he gave them a second chance.
One of them is Rustam Borovkov, who was serving a 13-year sentence for manslaughter and theft. He describes the process as follows: Last July, Prigozhin was taken to the prison near the Estonian border. He gave a speech there, which was attended by several hundred inmates. They then had three days to make a decision. Around 40 reported. Drug addicts are said to have been screened out with the help of a lie detector test, and the rest were on their way to Ukraine after the deadline. “I knew right away that I was leaving, even before he came to us,” said 31-year-old Borovkov. His motivation was his family: “I have a small child, I wanted to return to my family.”
Another says he volunteered out of a sense of patriotic obligation. The convicted thief had served more than half of his sentence but came forward anyway. He was given two weeks to think things over and was then housed in another wing of the prison, where the guards said they treated him with renewed respect.
The men describe a respectful interaction, but there are also reports to the contrary. A video of such a prison speech by Prigozhin appeared on social media, as Archyde.com reports. In it, he gives the inmates only five minutes to decide: anyone who withdraws their promise will be shot as a deserter.
In another video, in addition to the pardon, he promises a monthly wage of 100,000 rubles (1,220 euros) a month – the average wage in Russia is 65,000 rubles.
Training
This was followed by training which, according to the men, was short but intensive – there is talk of two to three weeks. Some of the trainers were veterans from Russian special forces. “Everything was organized at the highest level,” Borowkow said.
The men interviewed told Archyde.com that most of the recruits had prior military experience, such as having served in the military or as professional soldiers. Two testified that prisoners with the most military experience were appointed commanders.
