According to British secret services, the Russian mercenary group Wagner has significantly relaxed its strict hiring criteria due to significant losses. “It has maintained relatively high recruiting standards in previous conflicts, and many of its mercenaries had previously served as professional Russian soldiers,” it said. But now you would put “quantity over experience” – and even recruit sick men.
“In previous conflicts, the Wagner group has maintained relatively high recruiting standards and many of its mercenaries had previously served as professional Russian soldiers,” the Defense Ministry in London said.
Most recently, however, the head of the force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, suggested in an online post that the group would now also recruit prisoners with serious illnesses such as hepatitis C. “The acceptance of prisoners with serious medical concerns underscores that quantity is now valued over experience or quality.”
Prigozhin also recently discussed plans to build a 200-kilometer-long defensive position called the “Wagner Line” in eastern Ukraine. “This undertaking would require a lot of manpower. There is a real possibility that some of the inmates recruited from the prisons will first be used to build defenses,” he said in London.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in late February, citing intelligence information. With this, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
