"Wagnerian" frankly told how Prigozhin lured prisoners to war

The leader of the PMC was so effective in luring prisoners to war that “the head of the colony liked it,” says the mercenary.

A Wagner PMC mercenary who was captured in Ukrainian captivity , recruited in September 2022 in one of the Russian colonies, revealed what they promised the prisoners if they agreed to go to Ukraine.

As he told an interview for the blogger Ramina Eshakzai’s channel, the leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accompanied by an escort, flew to the colony by helicopter. He spoke to the prisoners and told what their goals would be in the war against Ukraine. At the same time, the conditions for serving, as well as the practice of executions in PMCs for refusing to fight, were out of the question. The mercenary notes that Prigozhin managed to tell everything in such a way that the idea of going to war became attractive to half of the prisoners in the colony.

[We learned about this condition] already when we were there. He told everything colorfully, and even the head of the colony liked it,” says the mercenary.

To pay, according to the “Wagnerian”, promised 100 thousand rubles during training and 200 – for participation in the battles. Receipt of payments was envisaged by selected relatives or close ones. They allegedly could take the money after providing the number of the mercenary badge and copies of the passport at Wagner PMC centers throughout Russia. But the recruited prisoners had no connection with them, as well as the opportunity to check whether they received the money.

“They signed a contract. I didn’t read it, why. I ticked it there, put in a phone number, an address, and that’s it. They just said – who managed to write, they will receive cash payments. Well, I quickly wrote. [It was indicated that] cash payments will come to relatives or friends. You indicate the contact number, the address of residence, the number and series of the passport, and – I don’t know why – how many rooms you have in your home. I gave the contacts of my ex-wife. … According to the promise, these 200 thousand were to be paid . I saw this money only from those who trained us, “added the” Wagnerian “.

(C)UNIAN 2023