Freemoneyforever schreef op 2 november 2022 08:36:
A driving force behind the offensive in Bakhmut, the site of the fiercest fighting in the Donetsk region, is the Wagner mercenary group, say war observers and Ukraine troops.
The shadowy force was founded by Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The 61-year-old has taken an increasingly prominent role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - leading some to question if he might harbour personal political ambitions.
Ukrainian officials say Prigozhin has been sending thousands of soldiers recruited in Russian prisons to the front line, with the promise of a salary and an amnesty.
Several Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut told AFP these alleged ex-convicts are used as a type of “human bait”.
“It starts at around 6:00 pm, when it’s getting dark,” said Anton, a 50-year-old Ukrainian soldier from the 93th brigade who was resting after an injury.
“These soldiers - with no experience - are sent towards our guns and stay there for a few minutes,” Anton, nickname “Polyak”, told AFP.
He estimated seven or eight were sent every night.
“Their job is to advance towards us, forcing us to fire on them, to reveal our positions,” said Sergiy, a major in the 53rd brigade.
“After that, they fire artillery or send more experienced commandos towards our positions.”
The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour reported this week that the leaders of the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary group answerable to Vladimir Putin, now have as much political influence in the Kremlin as the foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, and the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, according to a prominent Russian dissident and former political prisoner.
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/n...