A blog by “Leon 1967” on the Russian LiveJournal covers the individual’s volunteer work helping Russian soldiers deliver medicine kits. He previously shared his account of the battle for Rubizhne in March, and occasionally writes opinions on various events surrounding the war in Ukraine.

Here, the individual explains why is there a need to recruit convicts to the Wagner PMC, citing complete destruction of the unit back in March:

…No doubt, if I were a convict, I would dream of joining this friendly team in order to be able not only to pay my debt to the Motherland, but also to repay it with interest. And the last remark: those who do not want PMCs to fight, the prisoners, who talk about this topic, who do not want to do anything and, in principle, who do not like this topic, send your children to the frontline. It’s either PMCs and prisoners, or your children – decide for yourself.

 

Master of demagogy, can’t take that away.

 

But questions arise:

 

1. Why does the proposed choice is about our children, and not to the children of Prigozhin and other “elites”?

 

2. What does the assassination of Mozgovoy and the ensuing attempt to disarm “Prizrak” [battalion], for example, have to do with patriotism and service to the motherland?

 

3. Why is the recruitment of convicts presented as an alternative to mobilisation? Are the PMC now divisions, or what?

 

4. LPR and DPR “mobiks”, fighters of the Russian Armed Forces and BARS [reserve], volunteer battalions, recruited convicts, are they from incubators or do they also have parents?

 

Everything is simple. “Musicians” [nickname for Wagner PMC] arrived in the LPR around mid-March. The approximate number of their contingent at that time was up to 1,500 people. It’s a regiment, but a castrated one: there is a lot of infantry, little armor, artillery and other things. They were not prepared for such a war. Their task was to chase negroes and to take away oil fields in favor of hucksters.

 

In the very first couple of weeks, they suffered huge losses in Popasna – killed, wounded and refuseniks.

 

Gradually, in the course of hostilities, the professional “dogs of war” started running out, and there was nothing to replenish them with. Thus, the task has been set, the budgets have been assigned, the Star of the Hero of Russia has been awarded, but there are not enough performers.

 

And that is why social networks are now flooded with military-romantic advertisements for PMCs, designed for juvenile fuckers, and a search goes through prisons. Requirements for applicants are sharply reduced. Because not professionals are required, but meat for the assault infantry.

 

Of course, the recruitment of convicts in PMCs is not an alternative to mobilisation. They carry out assault missions in very narrow directions there. The entire burden of the war is being carried by the very “iron helmets” – the mobilised men of the LPR and the DPR. And here a question should be asked to the owners of Prigozhin: how did it happen that you started the war, having cartoons instead of a combat-ready army, since now you have to recruit repeat offenders?