The Russian president has signed an amendment to the mobilization law to allow the recruitment of those guilty of murder, theft, robbery or drug trafficking. On Friday, November 4, the Russian president signed an amendment to the law allowing partial mobilization, which began on September 21 and officially ended on October 28, to recruit citizens convicted of murder, theft, robbery or drug trafficking. However, those guilty of violation of the sexual integrity of a minor, terrorism or extremism are excluded, according to the Russian press agency RIA Novosti.
Evgueni Prigojine, at the head of the Wagner mercenary group – so named by its neo-Nazi founder, Dmitri Outkine, in homage to Hitler’s favorite composer – had already recruited in penitentiary centers by promising an amnesty after six months of mission. “For the others, those who once in Ukraine say they were wrong, they are recognized as deserters. In this case, you are sent to the firing squad”. Wagner is at the forefront of the fighting in Bakhmout (Donbass) where the Russian army has been struggling to advance for several weeks.
Vladimir Putin had ordered the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists on September 21 after the scathing rout of the Russian army near Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine. In addition, American intelligence estimates that the Russian army and its auxiliaries deplore 80,000 combatants killed or injured. Before invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin had amassed between 150,000 and 200,000 soldiers.
