A Russian journalist went undercover as a wannabe recruit for the infamous Wagner Group and was seemingly accepted into the private military after little to no questions about his background.
The independent outlet The initiate reports that journalists came up with the idea of calling Wagner’s hotline after the group began putting up recruitment posters at bus stops and security companies.
One such poster, reportedly hung in Krasnoyarsk, urged Wagner recruits to “test their minds” by signing a contract. Curiously, the poster claimed that all recruits would be required to “answer three questions” when they joined: “Would you rather be stabbed in the eye with a fork or fucked in the ass?”, and, “Would you rather get fucked in the ass or sell your mother?
The last question asked potential candidates if they would rather eat “soap from the table or bread from the latrine.”
An unnamed Wagner recruiter was quoted as saying the Insider the prison style questions are “nonsense” and there is “no such thing” to join the group. But he said newcomers were likely to “see” prisoners in the group’s ranks, even though they “won’t cross paths with them.”
When asked by the reporter if he could “‘take other guys’ to a Wagner headquarters in the Krasnodar region, the recruiter didn’t miss a beat when he answered matter-of-factly: “Make sure they aren’t convicted of crimes like terrorism, extremism , kidnapping and rape.”
He made no mention of murder.
A “juvenile file,” the recruiter said, was fine, along with men struggling with substance abuse.
“Sometimes they come in with a statement from the narcologist that they are registered alcoholics. Such things are forgiven, but those kind of guys have to go through the lie detector,” the recruiter said.
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Among other things, the recruiter said funeral expenses would be covered, though he couldn’t name an “exact amount,” and that the payment would be about $3,500 a month on a six-month contract. Recruits are then sent to the battlefield after “two or three weeks” of training, he said.
He told the supposed recruit that “there might be an opportunity for you to serve as a sniper” as he had gone “shooting” with his father “sometimes” in the past.
‘Look, you need your passport. If you have military ID, bring it, if not, don’t. Passport, health insurance and a statement from the narcologist and psychiatrist that you are not registered with them. Then you should delete all social media accounts and messengers to prevent information leaks,” said the recruiter.
He also stressed that the shadow army operates freely from the Russian defense ministry, noting: “We have our own awards, but we don’t count on the ministry’s because we are not part of the defense ministry.”
The alleged call comes after Wagner reportedly ramped up recruitment efforts in recent weeks, with human rights groups raising the alarm about female prisoners joining the group and political prisoners in Chechnya being pressured to join.
The group has reportedly suffered staggering casualties in Ukraine as of late, particularly among prisoners thrown to the front lines. Of the 270 prisoners recruited from a penal colony in the Republic of Bashkortostan, only 30 are still alive, according to the Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPu.
This week, a media outlet headed by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin reported on funeral services for a Tanzanian national who came to Russia to study but ended up on the battlefield after Wagner bailed him out of prison.
Tarimo Nemes Raymond died in Bakhmut, RIA-FAN reported, while “defending the interests of the Russian Federation” despite being a foreigner.
He is not the first foreign citizen to be ambushed by the group of mercenaries. Zambian authorities expressed their outrage in November when a 23-year-old engineering student from that country was killed during a fight with Wagner in Ukraine, having also been plucked from behind bars.
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