Wagner PMC to continue recruiting prisoners in Russia, despite claims of stopping recruitment in prisons – ISW
The Wagner PMC is slowing down its recruitment of prisoners as it ceases to be an important force at the front. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) are convinced of this.
As you know, the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevhen Prigozhyn, said on February 9 that his company had completely stopped recruiting prisoners. Prigozhin also stated that “all obligations” are being fulfilled to those who are currently working for Wagner.
ISW analysts believe it is likely that Wagner PMC will continue to recruit people in prisons, although it will do so on a much smaller scale.
Over the past few months, ISW has noted a slowdown in Wagner’s recruitment of prisoners, which is confirmed by statistics from the Federal Penitentiary Service, which shows that the decline in the number of Russian prisoners stabilized between November 2022 and January 2023.
ISW analysts believe that this phenomenon is consistent with the general trend of slowly replacing Wagnerians with regular Russian troops in the Bakhmut area. According to the experts, this indicates that the Russian military command is likely to gradually abandon its reliance on Wagner, and thus the use of prisoners as cannon fodder.
