In the coming weeks, most of the mercenary prisoners may leave Wagner’s PMC
Prisoners who were recruited into the ranks of Wagner’s PMC may leave the group in the coming weeks due to the expiration of their six-month contracts.
This is written by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts refer to the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain, according to which thousands of convicted Wagnerites, who were recruited in the fall of 2022, will be pardoned and released, as the PMС keeps its promise to release the convicts after six months of service.
The agency predicts that the exodus of convicts will exacerbate the lack of personnel in the PMC, as the Kremlin has blocked the possibility of further recruitment of convicts.
The Institute reminded that on January 27, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin granted a preventive pardon to Russian convicts participating in the war against Ukraine.
– The Kremlin’s statement corresponds to the established ISW schedule of Putin’s decision to completely distance himself from the founder of PMС Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin after the fall of Soledar in the Donetsk region on January 12-13, – the message says.
Experts say the Kremlin likely deliberately authorized the release of information about the early pardons to encourage more convicts to walk out after their contracts expire and further weaken Wagner’s power.
Earlier it was reported that the owner of Wagner’s private military company Yevhen Prigozhin is looking for reasons to explain why the offensive of his PMС in the Bakhmut area of the Donetsk region is approaching its climax.
