Russia is recruiting convicted murderers and spies, who are jailed, to fight in the Ukraine war as it's facing massive troop losses in Ukraine. Prisoners have been promised £3,000 and amnesty in return for fighting in Ukraine.
Reports suggest that prisoners would join mercenary group Wagner, which is fighting in the Donbas region.
Many of the new recruits are ex-military agents and former members of special forces, who can actually benefit Russia as Ukraine has claimed it has killed more than 37,000 Russian soldiers in the war.
Earlier in the war, prisoners serving sentences for the most serious crimes were rejected from the Russian military, but there are now reports that murderers are being recruited as Putin looks for more frontline soldiers, according to Daily Mail.
Prisoners Will Be Given A Two-Week Training
Shortlisted prisoners will be given a two-week training before being sent to the battlefields and the Wagner group will take the decision about their deployment.
"They were taken off prison camp jobs, against their wishes, and invited to have a chat. These were former participants of war service or those with reasonably senior military ranks," a source told Russian opposition Telegram channel SOTA, according to The Mirror.
Hundreds of Inmates Are Ready To Join Fight
Prisoners were also told that whoever wants to participate in the war can give their names forward. One of the murderers, who is sent to Donbas, has been promised that criminal charges will be withdrawn against him.
New recruits are also told that if they are killed in the war, their family members will receive £64,000. Hundreds of inmates are believed to be ready to fight in Ukraine after they were promised amnesty.
An unidentified relative of a Yablonevka inmate said he had already signed a contract to go to Ukraine. "He told me two days after the meeting that he signed the contract and that there's no going back," the relative said, according to Daily Telegraph.
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