Russia's Private Army Choosing Numbers Over Quality Amid Struggles: U.K.

Russia's Wagner Group mercenary organization has lowered its standards to prioritize "numbers over experience or quality," according to U.K. officials.

Earlier in October Ukrainian intelligence officials said the Wagner Group had started recruiting convicts with diseases including HIV and Hepatitis C. They added that Russia's private army were marking these soldiers with bracelets on their hands.

Referencing the reports in its Sunday, October 30 update on the Ukraine war, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said the Wagner Group appears to have changed the way it recruits soldiers.

It read: "On 27 October 2022, Russian mogul Yevgeny Prigozhin posted online, apparently admitting allegations that his private military company, the Wagner Group, had altered its standards and was recruiting Russian convicts suffering from serious diseases including HIV and Hepatitis C.

"The role of the Wagner Group has evolved significantly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In previous conflicts, it maintained relatively high recruitment standards, with many of its operators having previously served as professional Russian soldiers.

"The admission of prisoners with serious medical concerns highlights an approach which now prioritizes numbers over experience or quality.

"Prigozhin has recently discussed plans to create a 200km long defensive 'Wagner Line' in eastern Ukraine. This endeavor would require a large labor force.

"There is a realistic possibility that some of the convict recruits will initially be put to work constructing the defenses."

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence previously said the Wagner group had taken "more than a hundred prisoners" with confirmed HIV and hepatitis C from the No. 5 correctional colony near Metallostroy, in the Leningrad region of western Russia.

It added: "In order to 'mark' infected militants, the command of 'Wagners' forces them to wear red bracelets on the arm in case of HIV and white bracelets in case of hepatitis.

"Among other militants who are forced to serve alongside the infected, indignation at this situation is growing. It is known that Russian doctors systematically refuse to provide assistance to the wounded with hepatitis or HIV.

"In Ukraine, captured militants with HIV and hepatitis have already been found, which confirms the information about mass "recruitment" of infected prisoners to PMC Wagner."

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.

Earlier this month, a report found the Wagner Group had recruited 5,000 prisoners within the space of a week.

Olga Romanova, head of the prisoner advocacy group Russia Behind Bars, said there were more than 20,000 Russian prisoners who had been sent to fight in Ukraine as Moscow struggles to fill a manpower hole following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Pentagon estimated in August that 80,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured in Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in February.