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The Russian government is trying to enlist new forces for the Donbass through the Wagner militia, a private military company linked to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin. On job offers, recruitment criteria have been revised downwards.
A few clicks on the Internet are enough to come across entire pages boasting of their war feats: the group of Russian mercenaries Wagner is recruiting, and making it known. For two months, dozens of announcements have been published. The militia close to Russian power, usually so secretive, no longer takes the trouble to hide its identity. Only a few photos attest to the presence of the Wagner group at the front in Ukraine. According to the British intelligence services, there are more than 1,000 on the front line, and they need men.
“It is sure that they are used as cannon fodder, they are the ones that we send first“, explains Alexandra Jousset, co-director of Wagner, Putin’s shadow army. Many candidates are sought: rescuers, rocket launcher operators but above all all volunteers between 24 and 50 years old. Having a criminal record is tolerated, but certain criteria are eliminatory, such as having family in NATO countries
The interviews take place at the Wagner camp, near Mol’kino (Russia). It is accompanied by a passage to the detector of lies. The recruits then spend a few weeks in a barracks, before winning training camps or being sent to the front.