<figure id="attachment_294655" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294655" style="width: 4345px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e52975a3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/aflo_208591209.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-294655" class="wp-caption-text">A mural of &#8220;Wagner&#8221; in the Serbian capital (Image: AP/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
 He&#8217;s the devil.
 This is how Andrei Medvedev, former commander of the Russian private military company Wagner, described Prigogine, the company&#8217;s founder. Medvedev made the comment when interviewed by CNN in Norway, where he had fled. Medvedev also said, &#8220;Wagner doesn&#8217;t want to fight.
 Wagner&#8221; gathered soldiers who did not want to fight in one place, shot them in front of the recruits, and buried them in trenches. Mr. Prigogine should be prosecuted for mistreating prisoners.
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 Wagner&#8221; hires prisoners as mercenaries after Mr. Prigogine himself goes to the prison and commits murder or rape. His monthly salary is double that of the average Russian office worker. The contract is that if they fight on the front line in Ukraine for six months and return home alive, they will be exempt from felony charges. Wagner&#8221; published a video of a senior officer congratulating the prisoners after they returned from the front, saying, &#8220;You&#8217;ve had six months of adrenaline.
 You&#8217;ve had six months of adrenaline, so you won&#8217;t have an incident for a month. Don&#8217;t drink too much. Don&#8217;t use drugs. No more rapes.&#8221;
<h2> Human Shield.&#8221;</h2>
<figure id="attachment_294662" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294662" style="width: 5336px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5bea52a2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/aflo_206994272.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-294662" class="wp-caption-text"> The joint funeral of the &#8220;Wagner&#8221; mercenaries last December (Image: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
 But according to Medvedev&#8217;s statement to &#8220;CNN,&#8221; the reality of the prisoner soldiers is lousy.
 There are no tactics, nothing. We just told them where the enemy was. There were no clear orders on how to act.
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 On February 1, &#8220;CNN&#8221; also reported the story of Ukrainian soldiers who actually fought against &#8220;Wagner&#8221; prisoners in eastern Bakhmut. The story is graphic.
 According to CNN, the prisoners were poorly equipped and appeared to be untrained. The battle was a meat-and-potatoes affair, with repeated assaults&#8230;After advancing about 30 meters in 10-man units, they dug trenches and established bases. If they were killed by Ukrainian artillery fire, 10 new men would be brought in. If they advance little by little and the prisoners are wiped out, a unit with combat experience will be deployed for the first time. The Ukrainian soldiers interviewed described the prisoners as &#8216;human shields.
 The combat stance of the prisoners is said to be unusual.
 According to the Ukrainian soldiers, the prisoners come at them with blood pouring from all over their bodies. No matter how many times we shoot them, they never seem to stop. They said they would step over the bodies of their comrades-in-arms and charge at them gamely, perhaps on drugs. It was like something out of a zombie movie, according to &#8230;&#8230;.
 Many Ukrainian soldiers said they were &#8216;terrified&#8217; by the unthinkable behavior of the prisoners, who fired their machine guns for 10 hours straight, so hot that the barrels had to be replaced before they could fight. They ran out of bullets and grenades, and one of their allies almost lost his mind.
 U.S. officials have analyzed that Russia treats &#8220;Wagner&#8217;s&#8221; soldiers as &#8220;expendable&#8221; and aims to deplete the Ukrainian army&#8217;s ammunition. They say that the casualties of the Russian army are approaching 200,000 due to the reckless fighting of &#8220;Wagner.&#8221;
<figure id="attachment_294665" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294665" style="width: 5370px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="be1dba33"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/aflo_206974599.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-294665" class="wp-caption-text"> A joint funeral for &#8220;Wagner&#8221; mercenaries last December (Image: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_294660" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294660" style="width: 4677px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="09ee3f37"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/aflo_206974602.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-294660" class="wp-caption-text"> The joint funeral of &#8220;Wagner&#8221; mercenaries last December (Image: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_294657" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294657" style="width: 5041px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="26b48b77"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/aflo_206974601.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-294657" class="wp-caption-text"> The joint funeral of &#8220;Wagner&#8221; mercenaries in December last year (Image: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_294663" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294663" style="width: 4558px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b7337fa6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/aflo_206974595.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-294663" class="wp-caption-text"> The joint funeral of &#8220;Wagner&#8221; mercenaries in December last year (Image: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>

 AP/Afro Reuters/Afro

 Wagner, a Russian private military company whose founder is called "the devil" by a former commander who fled the country. Prisoner soldiers mobilized from prisons continue to fight desperate battles. A Ukrainian soldier describes them as "like zombies.

Like a zombie,&#8221; &#8220;I don&#8217;t know if I&#8217;m on drugs or not, I can&#8217;t fall down&#8230;&#8221; A Ukrainian soldier reveals the despairing battlefield of the &#8220;Russian prisoners of war.

Like a zombie,” “I don’t know if I’m on drugs or not, I can’t fall down…” A Ukrainian soldier reveals the despairing battlefield of the “Russian prisoners of war.

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