Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PMC Wagner, claims that he no longer recruits convicts for the Ukraine War, Wagner’s press relations departments reports.
Live24 asked Prigozhin whether it was true that PMC Wagner was no longer recruiting convicts, allegedly reported by convicts themselves.
“The recruitment of convicts into PMC Wagner is over. We keep our commitments to those already recruited,” Prigozhin said.
It was revealed that PMC Wagner had been recruiting convicts in the summer of 2022, reportedly, Prigozhin had been visiting prisons himself.
Mediazona found out that a second wave of recruitment was done by PMC Wagner in late 2022. There were several times fewer convicts willing to go to war, the media outlet said. Russia’s Penitentiary Agency reported around the same time that the overall number of convicts stopped decreasing.
Additionally, Agentstvo reported that convicts in Russian prisons are being threatened with new charges if they refuse to go to the Ukraine War.
