The US estimates that more than 30,000 mercenaries from the Wagner group, backed by the leaders of the Russian Federation, have died since the Kremlin army’s invasion of Ukraine began, the White House said on Friday.
US Presidency National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference that these casualties have numbered about 9,000 since mid-December, with the intensification of the battle for Bakhmut, in Donbass.
“They use conscripts, most of them convicts, as cannon fodder. They literally throw them in a meat grinder.”considered.
Kirby added that, based on the information the US has, about 90% of the Wagner booths in December would be detainees enlisted in the organization.
The US imposed sanctions on this group of mercenaries for their involvement in the invasion of Ukraine, labeling it a “transnational criminal organization”.
In January, the US estimated the group had sent 50,000 personnel to Ukraine, of which 10,000 would be hired and 40,000 ex-detainees, and announced that Wagner is recruiting fighters in Russian prisons.
Source: DN
