Testimony from Ukrainian Troops: "No Matter How Much We Shoot, They Don't Die"
Russia Uses Prisoner-Origin Mercenaries as 'Bullet Shields'
Members of the Russian private military company Wagner Group are suspected of using drugs to enhance their combat effectiveness.
On the 1st (local time), US CNN reported on the war situation, citing an interview with Andri, a Ukrainian soldier fighting against Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine.
Andri claimed, "No matter how much you shoot, they don't die," suggesting that the unrealistically persistent combat power of Wagner mercenaries seemed as if they were being administered drugs. He added, "The fighting went on endlessly for 10 hours. Wagner mercenaries stepped on the bodies of their comrades and climbed over the piled corpses," likening it to a zombie movie.
However, CNN stated that it could not independently verify whether these speculations were true.
According to Andri, the Wagner Group lines up 10 prisoner-origin mercenaries about 30 meters apart to dig the ground, then another 10 take attack positions in the same way. When the frontline mercenaries die, the next combatants launch an attack, Andri explained. They use prisoner-origin mercenaries as human shields. He recalled, "We repelled the first attack, but they kept appearing and surrounded us. Due to the unexpected attack, only a few of us, including myself, remained in our unit."
On the 12th (local time), the residential area of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine was destroyed due to fierce battles between Russia and Ukraine. [Photo by AP News]
Meanwhile, Wagner was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They recruited serious criminals with the condition that prisoner-origin mercenaries would receive twice the average monthly salary of Russian workers and be pardoned if they survived six months of service on the front lines.
In fact, according to interrogation transcripts of Wagner mercenary prisoners provided to CNN by Andri, one mercenary said, "A mercenary who went to prison for selling drugs volunteered for Wagner to not block the future of his daughter, who dreams of becoming a lawyer." He also revealed, "He realized he was destined to be a human shield when he was deployed on his first combat mission."
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