Russians facing Wagner 'crimewave' as convict fighters go on killing spree

Former Russian prisoners who were recruited to fight in Ukraine have returned to Russia and are carrying out violent crimes, an expert warns.

The private mercenary group called Wagner took on nearly 50,000 prisoners at the start of the war in 2022, promising them freedom in exchange for six months of service.

Many of these men were thrown into the battle of Bakhmut in 2023, now known as the "meat grinder" because of the rate at which Russian men were sent into the fight.

But the prisoner conscripts who survived the fighting – about 30,000 men – have now returned to Russia and appear to have returned to their criminal pasts.

Speaking to Times Radio, journalist Alec Luhn explained: "Now Russia is starting to reap what it has sown because we know at least 48,000 prisoners were recruited into Wagner to fight in Ukraine, and now the majority of them are back walking free in Russia.

"We have started to see this wave of criminality in Russia as a result of that. A former Wagner fighter who returned to Russia killed and slit the throat of an elderly woman and stabbed and nearly killed an elderly man.

"This is the unintended consequence of this tactic coming home to roost in Russia."

READ MORE: Inside Wagner's Bakhmut bloodbath that slaughtered 20k and drove Putin ally mad

The Financial Times reported in January that families of the victims of these criminals are not informed that the men are now free, instead finding out from other locals in their towns and villages.

The outlet outlined one example in Yaroslavl, where Nikolay Ogolobyak killed four teenagers and was jailed. He later secured freedom after serving in the Russian military in Ukraine.

The criminal later told local media: “People say: ‘God forbid I meet a man like that at the playground.’ But I won’t do anything to anyone. I’m not going to attack anybody. I don’t want to go back to prison. I had my fill.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has defended Russia's policy in the past, saying: “Even those convicted of the most serious crimes...[can] atone for their crimes on the battlefield.

“They are redeemed by spilling blood, by [serving in] assault brigades, under a hail of bullets and artillery fire."

Explaining the role that Wagner soldiers played in the war, Mr Luhn added: "Most of the 19,500 Wagner fighters that died were prisoners recruited from Russian prisons and promised freedom in exchange for 6 months fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine, this was a controversial and new tactic at the time.

"We saw Prigozhin [the Wagner leader] appearing personally in prison yards and recruiting these prisoners, no matter what their crimes. They could earn their freedom on the frontlines.

"That ended up being key to Russia's war offensive at the time as those prisoners ended up bearing most of the casualties.

"That Bakhmut operations made a hero out of Prigozhin, who became enveloped in this very public disagreement with the Russian military command. He claimed they were not given enough ammunition.

"This led to him leading a march on Moscow in this coup attempt against the military leadership in Moscow. It was the most dangerous moment for Putin's regime that we have seen in all 24 years of his rule."

Priogzhin died two months after the botched mutiny. Putin claimed the Wagner boss' helicopter crashed after a grenade was detonated onboard, denying any involvement in his death.