Russian military group recruiting convicted felons to fight in Ukraine war: U.S. official
Global News
The Wagner Group is trying to recruit over 1,500 convicted felons to take part in Russia's war in Ukraine, but many are refusing to join, a senior U.S. defense official said.
The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, is trying to recruit over 1,500 convicted felons to take part in Russia’s war in Ukraine, but many are refusing to join, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday.
“Our information indicates that Wagner has been suffering high losses in Ukraine, especially and unsurprisingly among young and inexperienced fighters,” the U.S. official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, accusing it of clandestine operations on the Kremlin’s behalf.
President Vladimir Putin has said the group does not represent the Russian state, but that private military contractors have the right to work anywhere in the world as long as they do not break Russian law.
The U.S. official pointed to recent social media videos, which appeared to show Yevgeny Prigozhin, whom the U.S. Treasury Department and the European Union have said the Wagner Group is linked to, trying to recruit prisoners.
The video appeared to show Prigozhin attempting to recruit Russian prisoners as well as Tajiks, Belarusians and Armenians.
Reuters has not independently verified the social media videos.
Wagner Group fighters have been accused by rights groups and the Ukrainian government of committing war crimes in Syria and eastern Ukraine from 2014 onward.
The Oscar-winning actor has denied all allegations against him and maintains that the incidents raised in the lawsuits either did not happen or were consensual.
European leaders have deflected entreaties from U.S. President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq, supporting operations against Iran.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that the regime remains intact and Tehran and its proxies remain capable of attacking U.S. and allies' interests.
James 'Jimmy' Gracey was reported missing after he didn't return to the short-term rental where he was staying with friends during spring break.
The U.K. Health Security Agency described the event as 'rapidly evolving' and warned of the potential for further cases.
U.S. benchmark crude fell US$1.24 to US$94.53 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose to US$104.17 per barrel. That's down from more than US$106 on Monday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's allies not to forget about his country, and suggested the U.S. and others should make use of Ukraine's anti-drone technology during the war.
Trump’s visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce, but it has become tangled in his effort to find an endgame to the war in Iran.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz starting to move is "a sign of how little Iran has left."
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night," Israel said.
Explosions were heard in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, where Nigeria’s homegrown jihadi Boko Haram extremists have waged an insurgency for more than a decade.
Iran is reportedly allowing some ships to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping chokepoint to access the resource-rich Persian Gulf.