The Wagner mercenary group, a Kremlin-affiliated organization involved in the invasion of Ukraine, announced the opening of soldier recruitment centers in 42 Russian cities.
The group’s leader, Yevgeni Prigojine, recognized the need for reinforcements to continue fighting the “colossal resistance” of Ukraine’s armed forces in strategic areas of the invasion, such as the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.
Prigojine has complained in recent days about the lack of ammunition and even hinted that the Russian Defense Ministry may try to boycott the actions of the Wagner group by blocking the promised transfer of ammunition.
Today this oligarch – a figure very close to President Vladimir Putin – acknowledged efforts to increase munitions production, but stressed that there is a general shortage of military supplies.
To respond to the lack of soldiers, the leader of the Wagner group now wants to start a recruitment process in 58 centers in 42 Russian cities, after bringing a large number of prisoners from Russian prisons to the front in Ukraine.
Russian prison services reported a 23,000 decrease in the prison population between September and November, while it fell by another 6,000 in November.
British intelligence officials warned of a slowdown in prisoner recruitment, but admitted that the Wagner group has about 50,000 in its ranks.
Source: DN
