Sky News: 600 Russian military contractors have been killed in Syria
Two mercenaries have reported to Sky News that they were hired by private military company, Wagner, to participate in an operation in Syria. They also claim that between 500 and 600 Russian mercenaries were killed during the military campaign.
The mercenaries, under the pseudonyms of Alexander and Dmitry, reported that they were paid £3,000 per month to fight against terrorists in Syria.
According to them, mercenaries were sent to Syria by military aircraft. Alexander said that officially, he and others never fought in Syria. They also reported that sometimes the bodies of deceased mercenaries were cremated, sometimes they were documented as being killed in the Donbas, or in some cases, their deaths were blamed on car crashes.
Alexander added that the volunteers recruited by Wagner fought in the Donbas and participated in events in the Crimea before fighting in Syria.
Dmitry reported that he gave his official documents to Wagner when he signed a contract with them. He tried to retrieve his passport when he arrived back in Moscow, but he was detained by police. According to him, there are at least 50 mercenaries in Moscow who have not gotten their documents back.
In addition, Sky News learned that Wagner recruits Russians via the Internet by placing ads on websites with military content.
According to Sky News, the mercenaries are trained at a military base in the village of Molkino in Krasnodar Krai. Alexander and Dmitry reported that Wagner hired all volunteers, even those who did not serve in the army and who have never held a weapon in their hands. They were then trained for one to two months.
Fontanka news agency first reported on Wagner in 2016. According to the news agency, the former Commander of Reserve Officer Division, with the call sign of Wagner, is behind the private military company. According to Fontanka and Sky News, private military formations are prohibited in Russia.
Fontanka claims that Wagner was created based on the Slavonic corps that went to fight in Syria on the side of Bashar al-Assad. After that, a case was brought against leaders of the corps under the article on mercenary activities.