Wagner group fighting in Ukraine ‘stops recruits from Russian jails’

It’s thought stories of brutality inside the pro-Kremlin mercenary group has blunted prisoner interest in the amnesty offer that requires a tour of duty in Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said the recruitment of inmates to Wagner had ‘completely ceased’. Picture: Getty Images/The Times

The pro-Kremlin Wagner mercenary group fighting in Ukraine has stopped recruiting convicts from Russian prisons, its leader has claimed.

It is thought that stories about brutality inside the group may have blunted prisoners’ interest in joining up, after a series of revelations from fighters who fled the unit and went abroad.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement that the recruitment of inmates to Wagner had “completely ceased”. He added that “all obligations to those currently working with us will be fulfilled”.

Andrei Medvedev said he witnessed the executions of 10 of the group’s fighters. Picture: Reuters/The Times

The businessman, known as “Putin’s Chef” because of his government catering contracts, did not give a reason for the scheme ending.

The recruitment, approved by the Kremlin, allowed perpetrators of serious crimes including murder to be released after a tour of duty in Ukraine.

Thousands of prisoners are thought to have taken advantage of the scheme. In November it emerged that a convicted murderer in the group who fell into Ukrainian captivity and then expressed a desire to fight on Kyiv’s side was bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer after being returned to Russia in a prisoner swap.

Prigozhin, 61, praised a video of the execution at the time, saying, “The sledgehammered one did not find happiness in Ukraine, but instead met some unkind but fair people. A dog’s death for a dog.”

Andrei Medvedev, a former Wagner commander who fled to Norway last month, revealed he had witnessed the executions of 10 of the group’s fighters who had deserted or refused orders.

Vladimir Osechkin said Andrei Medvedev’s testimony spooked inmates. Picture: Getty Images/The Times

Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian dissident who has helped several soldiers and Wagner fighters flee to the West, said in a recent interview with The Times that Medvedev’s testimony spooked inmates who were considering joining up.

“It destroyed the myth about Wagner being this wonderful organisation that pays great salaries and that everyone is trying to get into,” Osechkin said.

“Within two to three days, all the prisoners knew about the video. They started to realise the truth.”

Prigozhin announced last month that the first group of 200 prisoners fighting for Wagner had been given amnesties after serving in Ukraine for six months.

Putin’s spokesman said at the time that the presidential orders releasing the convicts were secret, but that their amnesty was carried out in accordance with the law.

Prigozhin’s statement was in response to a press query, which said that multiple prisoners had reported that Wagner was no longer recruiting in prisons.

The Times