Wagner attempts to recruit fighters in border regions with Ukraine – Russian media
Wagner attempts to recruit fighters in border regions with Ukraine (Photo:REUTERS/Igor Russak)
Russia’s Wagner Group mercenary company has begun to recruit fighters in Russian oblasts bordering Ukraine, in particular Kursk and Belgorod oblasts, the Concord company group, which is half owned by Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported on Russian social media.
“Militia centers” serving this company will be fed recruits by local businesses, Wagner said.
Prigozhin, a Russian businessman closely linked to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, said a quarter of the employees of local businesses will be sent to “serve in the trenches” every week. According to him, “militia centers” will be formed by the residents of the regions.
“If you are the owner of a small factory that employs 100 people, and 50 of them are adult males, then 25% should serve in the trenches, and 75% should continue their labor activity,” the Concord company group's message reads.
“And so in a cycle – one week in the trenches, three in their houses and in production. If the enemy comes to Russian land, all 100% will defend their country. Today, we need 10 people per kilometer of the frontline, so 1,000people per 100 kilometers.”
Prigozhin said “locals know the area the best, they are capable of fighting the illegal armed groups and striking the first blow if necessary.”
The owner of the Russian paramilitary organization said the people willing to fight “should be presented with high state awards, and their compatriots should not be stingy with words of gratitude.”
Earlier, Wagner started its recruitment campaign and established regional recruitment centers in over 20 cities, posting the phone numbers of recruiters on popular social media channels linked to the group.
Wagner has since resorted to recruiting prisoners, even those with serious diseases.
Andriy Yusov, press secretary of the Ukrainian main military intelligence department, said the Wagner Group was conceived as an “elite unit,” but nothing of this elite status remains now, with it being used as a source of cannon fodder by the Kremlin.
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