British military experts estimate that up to 20,000 of the fighters recruited from Russian prisons by the Wagner mercenary group for the offensive war in Ukraine were killed within a few months. At least 40,000 men were originally recruited into the recruiting program known as “Project K”, according to the intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London.
According to the British, the ex-prisoners made it possible to take the disputed city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, Wagner only grew into the powerful organization that last month challenged the authority of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the short-lived uprising.
However, given the high loss rate, it is also “one of the bloodiest episodes in modern military history,” the statement continued.
Release from the pardon – but many remain voluntary
The last ex-convicts were likely to finish their conscription with Wagner in the coming days, it said. According to British estimates, a significant number of those now pardoned are likely to remain in the service of the mercenaries. The prison recruitment program is now being continued by the Russian military.
The British Ministry of Defense publishes daily information on the course of the war since the start of the Russian offensive war in Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.
Source: Krone
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