Kremlin puppet Aksyonov creates in occupied Crimea his own mercenary company, with alleged ties to Prigozhin
Kremlin puppet Aksyonov creates in occupied Crimea his own mercenary company, with alleged ties to Prigozhin (Photo:Telegram-канал Конвой)
Sergey Aksyonov, the puppet “head” of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which is currently under Russian military occupation, has established a private military company on the peninsula, Russian publication Vazhnye Istorii reported on March 24.
Reportedly, the Convoy PMC, referred to as a “military unit” by Aksyonov, has been identified as a “combat army reserve” by a former member who disclosed that members must sign contracts with both Convoy and the Russian Ministry of Defense to ensure “guaranteed benefits” in case of injury or death.
The publication’s source, who works for Convoy, claimed to be earning around RUR 200,000 ($2,600) per month, while the commanding officer was making RUR 300,000 ($3,900). Additionally, those who commit to serving in the unit for one year are promised land “in Crimea or Abkhazia.”
Convoy mercenaries are currently deployed in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast, the publication said, adding that the training ground, as it follows from the information of one of the chats, is located in the village of Perevalne near Crimea.
A former mercenary from the company told reporters that the entire command of “PMC Aksyonov” are former employees of the notorious Russian Wagner Group mercenary company.
Convoy is commanded by Kostiantyn Pikalov, with the call sign Mazai, who is known as the “right-hand man” of Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin and the overseer of “Wagnerite” Russian mercenaries in Africa.
According to a report by news agency Bloomberg on March 23, Prigozhin is preparing to wind down the Wagner Group’s operations in Ukraine after numerous failures.
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