The Wagner Group boss said 5,000 convicts had been pardoned for fighting in Ukraine

Russia has pardoned more than 5,000 former criminals after they canceled their contracts to fight in the Wagner group, the leader said.

The private force, which has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has sent thousands of prisoners to the bloody conflict in Ukraine.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said thousands of prisoners “fulfilled their contracts” today after dozens died.

“To date, more than 5,000 people have been released without pardon after fulfilling their contracts with Wagner,” Prigozhin telegraphed per Reuters.

Analysis by the Institute for the Study of War predicts that Wagner will lose half of his prisoners in the coming weeks when their six-month contracts expire.

The US research group said last fall thousands of prisoners were recruited six months later with promises of freedom.

The report quoted the British Ministry of Defense as saying: “The British Ministry of Defense predicted that the exodus of convict troops would exacerbate Wagner’s manpower shortage, as the Kremlin has also prevented Wagner from recruiting additional prisoners.”

British intelligence estimates the number of combatants under Wagner’s command at 50,000 – some 10,000 professional soldiers and 40,000 ex-prisoners.

Prigozhin, himself a former prisoner after serving nine years during the Soviet era, said only 0.31% of prisoners pardoned had committed a crime again.

When Russia struggled to recruit men at the start of the war, Wagner came to fill the gaps by bringing troops out of prison cells.

Before the war, the group was thought to have only 5,000 fighters, mostly experienced ex-soldiers who were often defrauded by Russia’s elite regiments and special forces.

That summer, after spending years in secrecy, Prigozhin stepped onto the public scene and rallied his fighters against the ailing Russian army.

Wagner has since become the central force of the eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut to end one of the deadliest and longest battles of the war.

Wagner defectors and human rights defenders have claimed that recruits are trained for only two weeks before being thrown onto the battlefield.

One analyst said Wagner sent prisoners in “human waves” attacks to put out the fire and quickly push the front lines closer to the enemy at the cost of their lives.

The group has suffered 80% losses as a result, defense and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News last month.

Prigozhin has been in a public dispute with the Russian defense ministry for months as Putin gradually distanced himself from the Wagner group and banned Wagner from recruiting more prisoners.

“Prigozhin has developed a brand that constantly challenges the Russian Defense Ministry for its disregard for the welfare of troops,” the Institute for War Studies added, “and it is unlikely that any convict power will be angry with it by extending their tenure.” exceed.” keep leading the way. Contracts.’

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