TIME MAY BE RUNNING OUT FOR THE RUSSIAN PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANY, THE WAGNER GROUP. MOST OF THE MERCENARIES FIGHTING FOR WAGNER ARE ABOUT TO GO HOME, AND WHAT FIGHTERS DO REMAIN COULD SOON BE CUT-OFF FROM THE REST OF RUSSIA’S ARMED FORCES.
LAST FALL, WAGNER RECRUITED HEAVILY IN RUSSIAN PRISONS TO BOLSTER ITS RANKS. WAGNER FIGHTERS WERE CREDITED WITH TAKING SOLEDAR AND ARE NOW THE TIP OF THE SPEAR IN RUSSIA’S ATTACK ON THE CITY OF BAKHMUT.
THE US AND UK TOLD UKRAINE IT SHOULD STRATEGICALLY WITHDRAW FROM THE CITY IN EASTERN UKRAINE, SAYING IT WAS OF LITTLE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE. HOWEVER, AS LONG AS RUSSIA COMMITS A LARGE PORTION OF ITS FORCES TO TRY AND TAKE THE CITY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY SAID HE’S COMMITTING TROOPS TO ITS DEFENSE.
WAGNER IS USING WHAT ARE KNOWN AS “HUMAN WAVE” ATTACKS. ESSENTIALLY THE POORLY TRAINED MERCENARIES ARE SENT EN MASSE TO THE BATTLEFIELD TO HELP LOCATE UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS, AND THEN RUSSIA’S PROFESSIONAL MILITARY FORCES CAN COME IN BEHIND TO CONDUCT MORE PRECISE ATTACKS. THE BATTLE FOR BAKHMUT IS NOW THE WAR’S BLOODIEST. OF THE 40,000 ESTIMATED CONVICTS WAGNER EMPLOYED, AROUND HALF OF THEM WERE EITHER KILLED OR WOUNDED IN WHAT RUSSIANS CALL ‘THE MEAT GRINDER’.
COMPLICATING MATTERS FOR WAGNER’S LEADER, YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, MOST OF THE SURVIVING CONVICTS HE RECRUITED TO FIGHT ARE NEARING THE END OF THEIR SIX-MONTH CONTRACTS. THEY WILL SOON BE PARDONED AND ALLOWED TO RETURN BACK TO RUSSIAN SOCIETY.
NOT ONLY WILL THE PARDONS SEVERELY CONSTRICT WAGNER’S IMPACT ON THE BATTLEFIELD, BUT THE BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE SAID THE SUDDEN INFLUX OF VIOLENT OFFENDERS WITH RECENT AND TRAUMATIC COMBAT EXPERIENCE WILL LIKELY PRESENT A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE FOR RUSSIA’S WAR-TIME SOCIETY.
PRIGOZHIN AND WAGNER WERE BARRED EARLIER THIS YEAR FROM RECRUITING PRISONERS, SO THE PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANY IS NOW LOOKING FOR FUTURE SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE THROUGH ONLINE CAMPAIGNS AND CAMPUS VISITS TO RUSSIAN HIGH SCHOOLS.
BUT PRIGOZHIN MIGHT BE HURTING HIS OWN RECRUITING EFFORTS. IN A LETTER PUBLISHED MARCH 20TH, PRIGOZHIN TOLD RUSSIA’S DEFENCE MINISTER UKRAINE WAS PLANNING TO LAUNCH A LARGE-SCALE ATTACK IN LATE MARCH OR EARLY APRIL, AND THAT MANEUVER WOULD CUT-OFF WAGNER FORCES FROM THE REST OF RUSSIA’S MILITARY. PRIGOZHIN DIDN’T OFFER ANY EVIDENCE OF THE IMPENDING ATTACK, BUT SAID IF WAGNER IS CUT-OFF, IT WILL LEAD TO NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR WHAT RUSSIA CALLS ITS SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WAGNER GROUP, YOU CAN CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING AT STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS DOT COM.
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