Moscow recruiting prisoners with HIV, hepatitis for Putin's private army: Report
Russian President Vladimir Putin
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If reports coming from the UK'sministry of defence are to be believed, Moscow is recruiting Russian prisoners that are suffering from infectious diseases such asHIV and hepatitis C for President Vladimir Putin's private army.
Reportedly, Putin's private army is called the Wagner group and according to UK intelligence officials, more than 100 convicts have been deployed with coloured bracelets, marking their illness.
The report added that role of Putin's private militia had evolved ever since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. Earlier, the group hired professional Russian soldiers
"The role of Wagner Group has evolved significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In previous conflicts, it maintained relatively high recruitment standards, with many of its operators having previously served as professional Russian soldiers."
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Read more:'Choice of a real man': Russia attracts volunteer soldiers with mobile trucks, incentives
It added that the recruitment of prisoners with serious medical concerns, "highlights an approach which now prioritises numbers over experience or quality."
Formed in 2014 byintelligence officer Dmitry Utkin, the Wagner group has a reputation for recruiting deadly mercenaries that carry operations based on the intel from the top hierarchy in the Kremlin.The payment is made only after the completion of a mission.
The war between Russia-Ukraine has been ongoing for more than eight months. Both sides have lost a huge chunk of soldiers. After Ukraine made decisive gains in the southern part of Ukraine in September, Putin was forced to call back his troops and launch partial mobilisation of troops.
However, the hodge-podge process of mobilisation meant that Moscow had to end the hiring spree, much before reaching its goals. In October, Kremlin employed the use of Iranian drones, according to western intelligence reports to target key Ukrainian cities and managed to wrestle some of the advantage back.
(With inputs from agencies)
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