British intelligence: Kremlin uses Wagner mercenaries again

They are considered the Kremlin's secret warriors: members of the Wagner group are said to be back on the Ukraine front - including convicted criminals.

British intelligence: Kremlin uses Wagner mercenaries again

They are considered the Kremlin's secret warriors: members of the Wagner group are said to be back on the Ukraine front - including convicted criminals. According to experts, they could also have an impact on the Russians' clout.

According to British intelligence experts, the Russian mercenary group Wagner is increasingly filling the gaps in the invasion of Ukraine. According to the daily intelligence update on the Defense Ministry's Twitter account in London, the Wagner fighters probably played a central role in recent battles, for example in the capture of the cities of Popasna and Lysychansk.

However, the British experts also assume that the mercenary force had to accept heavy losses. This leads to lower recruitment standards for new combatants, including convicted criminals and previously rejected applicants. These new recruits would only receive very limited training, which would likely reduce the force's effectiveness and thus its value as a support for the Russian military.

According to British experts, tensions between mercenaries and regular military units could result from the fact that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin recently received the award as "Hero of the Russian Federation" for the troops' deployment in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. "This comes at a time when a number of very senior commanders are being replaced," the British statement said.

The morale of the Russian troops could be negatively affected. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, the British government has regularly published intelligence information on its progress. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that Wagner and similar organizations were neither paid by the Russian state nor did they represent Russia. However, British intelligence had previously reported that Wagner mercenaries had been sent to eastern Ukraine.