A former Russian Wagner mercenary has joined the RDK’s anti-government volunteer corps on the side of Kiev. He decided this during a prisoner exchange between the two warring factions. The group is currently deployed around Belgorod (Russia).
“After thorough verification, we will gladly give Vlad the chance to fight in our ranks,” the volunteer corps wrote on Telegram. Vladislav Ismailov was probably the first publicly known defector. The RDK consists of Russian nationalists fighting on the side of Kiev against the Russian army. They have been deployed for weeks, mainly in the Russian border area around Belgorod.
Was a Ukrainian prisoner of war
Ismailov drew attention in December 2022 with an interview with the Russian human rights organization in exile Gulagu.net. According to his own statement, he was captured in Ukraine in November after being recruited from a Russian prison to join the Wagner mercenaries a few months earlier. Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is said to have personally recruited him there.
On Monday, he called him a “traitor” on his Telegram channel. The 62-year-old threatened the defector with a “punishment that should correspond to Wagner traditions”. A video was released last year showing Wagner mercenaries beating a former comrade-in-arms with a sledgehammer.
First Russian private army under contract
The Russian Ministry of Defense has been feuding with the mercenary army for some time and has now contracted the first private army (see video above). The document was signed between the ministry and the Achmat special unit, according to a press release from the authority on Monday. Akhmad is considered the private army of the Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov.
Like Prigozhin, he has criticized the Russian General Staff and Ministry of Defense in the past. They had the wrong tactics and too soft an approach. However, Kadyrov and Prigozhin recently quarreled publicly. According to Prigozhin, Kadyrov’s squad has not been seen on the battlefield so far, but mainly makes Tik-Tok videos. Conversely, he was accused of being responsible for the high Russian losses at Bakhmut.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
