Ukrainian Media: "Russia's Reality Revealed Once Again"
The 'bare truth' of Russian private mercenaries deployed on the Ukrainian front has been revealed. Many of them are in poor condition, suffering from diseases such as AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), and are reportedly distinguished by wearing 'red wristbands' on their arms.
On the 30th of last month (local time), the Ukrainian local media outlet The New Voice of Ukraine (NV) cited an official report from the Ukrainian General Staff, reporting that the health condition of Russian private mercenaries is serious.
On January 7th (local time), children are climbing on a destroyed Russian tank in front of St. Michael's Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Russia's largest private military company (PMC), the Wagner Group, currently has its mercenaries deployed on the Ukrainian front. About 300 mercenaries were wounded in battles in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine and were recently transferred to a general hospital in Yuvileine, Luhansk Oblast, which is under Russian occupation.
Before treatment, the hospital medical staff conducted basic examinations on the wounded. The problem is that the majority of the wounded were found to be carriers of diseases such as AIDS, syphilis, tuberculosis, and pneumonia.
To make matters worse, it is reported that the Wagner Group is struggling to implement even basic isolation measures for the patients. According to the General Staff report, Wagner distinguishes carriers by placing specific bands on their wrists: red for AIDS carriers and white for hepatitis carriers.
Regarding this, NV evaluated, "Most of these 300 wounded are also disease carriers," adding, "This once again reveals the weak reality of the Russian military."
Recent Heavy Casualties... Reinforcement with Criminals
The Wagner Group, deeply involved in the Ukraine war, is reported to have suffered massive casualties in recent battles. John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), stated in a briefing on the 20th of last month, "More than 90% of the casualties in the Battle of Bakhmut were Wagner Group fighters," criticizing, "They literally threw people into a grinder."
The U.S. media outlet The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 24th of last month, citing the Russian prisoner rights organization 'Russia Behind Bars,' that out of the total 50,000 troops Wagner deployed on the Ukrainian front, only about 10,000 remain active.
According to foreign media reports including NYT and the British BBC, Wagner is replenishing its insufficient manpower with criminals such as violent offenders. In September last year, the BBC reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, gave a speech to prisoners in a prison yard. At that time, Prigozhin reportedly said, "If you serve six months in Wagner, you will be released," among other remarks.
The Wagner Group is a PMC founded by Dmitry Utkin, a former commander of Russian special forces, and is known to have unofficially participated in Russia's military annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. In the Ukraine war, it has been identified as a main perpetrator of war crimes such as civilian massacres and looting, drawing international condemnation.
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