TBILISI, June 29 ------ The Wagner Group mercenaries who seized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday in a failed mutiny included at least three convicted criminals, a Reuters review of facial recognition software, court records and social media showed.
Almost all of the fighters who took part in the gravest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule to date had their faces covered and so could not be identified. But Reuters reporting shows that some of them had previously been in jail, underlining how the Kremlin’s decision to allow Prigozhin to recruit thousands of mercenaries from prisons across the country last year has come back to haunt it.
Wagner fighters took control of the southern port and logistical hub for Russia’s war in Ukraine on Saturday morning. The mercenary force’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ordered his men to march on Moscow before they turned back in the failed bid to oust his longtime rival, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. Wagner mercenaries, among them ex-prisoners, have been fighting in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, notably in the city of Bakhmut, which has been the bloodiest battle so far and a rare victory in Russia’s stalling campaign.
Reuters has previously reported that many surviving convict fighters remain extremely loyal to Prigozhin, whom some credit for giving them a second chance at life. Those who survive six months in Ukraine are pardoned by Putin by secret decree. In the case of the individuals identified by Reuters in Rostov, that loyalty extended to taking part in a mutiny, and raises questions over what they will do next as Putin tries to defuse the crisis. They have been offered a choice between leaving for Belarus to join Prigozhin who is in exile there, joining the regular military or returning to civilian life. Reuters has tried to contact the three ex-convicts, but none of them replied to messages over social media. Russia’s defense ministry, penal service and Wagner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: inquirer.com
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