UK Defense Ministry: Last Wagner convict contracts ending soon, fighters to be released.

The Wagner Group is likely going to release the last of its recruited convicts from mandated service and offer them contracts, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported[1] on July 21. London said that the Russian Defense Ministry has taken over the process of recruiting prisoners.

Bloomberg reported[2] on July 5 that Moscow plans to offset the loss of Wagner fighters by enlisting convicts and Chechens. As the ministry noted, the reinforcements drawn from Russia's prisons enabled Moscow to take the city of Bakhmut, albeit at the cost of 20,000 convicts killed in battle. It also made the Wagner Group into a force capable of challenging the Russian government during their rebellion[3] on June 23-24, the analysis added.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko allegedly helped broker a deal[4] for Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops to relocate to Belarus after their short-lived insurrection. Minsk later confirmed that the Wagner Group's contractors are assisting[5] with the training of Belarusian soldiers and released[6] footage of joint exercises near the Belarusian-Polish border. According to the State Border Guard Service, their presence[7] does not represent a military threat to Ukraine.

Based on the information provided by the Pentagon, the mercenaries stationed[8] in Belarus are being reintegrated into the Russian military.

In Lukashenko's Belarus, Belarusian culture is not welcome While Belarusian is one of the two official state languages in Belarus, the decision to speak, read, and write it can be a dangerous choice for Belarusians. Growing up, the Belarusian poet and translator Valzhyna Mort was aware of how the Belarusian language was perceived in her country. "Belarusi...

[9] Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

  1. ^ reported (twitter.com)
  2. ^ reported (kyivindependent.com)
  3. ^ rebellion (kyivindependent.com)
  4. ^ broker a deal (kyivindependent.com)
  5. ^ assisting (kyivindependent.com)
  6. ^ released (kyivindependent.com)
  7. ^ presence (kyivindependent.com)
  8. ^ stationed (kyivindependent.com)
  9. ^ In Lukashenko's Belarus, Belarusian culture is not welcomeWhile Belarusian is one of the two official state languages in Belarus, the decision to speak, read, and write it can be a dangerous choice for Belarusians.

    Growing up, the Belarusian poet and translator Valzhyna Mort was aware of how the Belarusian language was perceived in her country. "Belarusi... (kyivindependent.com)

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