However, according to Russian media and public organizations opposed to the Kremlin's rhetoric, the real figure may be twice as high.
As of September, the private military company “Wagner” recruited in 37 colonies at least 5,786 criminals to be transferred to Ukraine in order to replenish the losses of the Kremlin army. Such numbers are called “Important Stories” by the media, whose editors have been counting since July.
Read also: Marking “deserter” and then – shooting: Prigozhin from PMK “Wagner” again took up the mobilization of criminals
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“We rely on the reports of our sources in the colonies – these are the prisoners themselves and their relatives – and on publications in the mass media, which deserve trust, and human rights-protecting Telegram channels”, – reveal their method of counting on the pages of “VI”.
At the same time, the human rights project “Sitting Russia”, which deals with helping citizens who have encountered the Russian investigation and penitentiary system, cites twice as many figures. The head of this public organization, Olga Romanova, believes that in fact at least 11,000 people have been recruited, and about 3,000 people have already left for Ukraine.
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“If before we were told about once every three days that, for example, 40 people were being taken away, now we are talking about hundreds almost every day people, – thinks Romanova. “Look, on Friday morning, a message was received from the Nizhny Novgorod region, and this is only the northern branch: ICH-1, ICH-6, ICH-7, ICH-14, ICH-17 — 625 people have already been taken,” – notes Romanova .
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Recently, Ukrainian military commander Yuriy Butusov released a video with a captured Russian criminal mobilized in “Wagner”. He says that he planned to transfer to a Russian unit in the ZSU, the so-called “Russian Volunteer Corps”. And also about how the Wagnerites “zero” (liquidate by shooting) their own.
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Earlier we reported that Prygozhin, sponsor of the “Wagner” Communist Party, continues to visit Russian prisons< /strong> looking for recruits.
