Prigozhin recruits more than 700 prisoners into Wagner PMC. Criminals allowed to kill and rob Ukrainians - russian media

Owner of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin has recruited more than 700 prisoners of penal colony No.15 of Bataysk, Rostov oblast, to participate in hostilities against Ukraine. The Vot Tak oppositional russian news agency writes about this, citing the words of one of the prisoners.

The criminal told that Prigozhin flew to the correctional colony in a private helicopter. He gathered all the prisoners on the parade ground and told them that he was looking for "murderers and robbers", and also told how he "slaughtered blacks in Africa".

"Once you get there (to Ukraine - OstroV), do whatever you want with the Ukrainians, you won’t get anything for it", - the prisoner quoted a businessman close to Putin as saying.

Prigozhin promised the criminals an amnesty after six months of service, but warned that they would face the death penalty for drug use, an attempt to escape or surrender.

According to the prisoner, "a huge queue lined up" to sign up for the Wagner PMC: out of 1 500 convicts, according to him, about half decided to sign up for the war.

Information about the visit of Prigozhin and Utkin was confirmed to the news agency by a prisoner in another colony of the Rostov oblast, who asked not to indicate its number.