London: Russian military now recruits prisoners themselves
According to British intelligence services, the Russian Ministry of Defense is now recruiting prisoners for the war of aggression against Ukraine itself. The British Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that it is likely that up to 10,000 prisoners joined the military in April 2023 alone. The initiative has been running since the beginning of the year. The campaign is part of an attempt to increase the number of soldiers while avoiding a new mobilization, which would be very unpopular with the Russian public, sources in London said.
The Ukrainian secret service, among others, had previously reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense was recruiting prisoners. According to military experts, the prisoners, who are promised a pardon in return for their deployment, are to be used as “cannon fodder” to spare regular units.
The Wagner mercenary group had previously recruited new fighters in Russian prisons since the summer of 2022. In the course of a dispute with the Ministry of Defense, however, Wagner lost access.