- The head of the Russia’s Wagner Group announced the opening of recruitment centers in dozens of cities late last week. “Recruitment centers for PMC Wagner have opened in 42 Russian cities,” the controversial mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement.
- Prigozhin has pivoted his recruitment efforts since the beginning of March, setting up outreach teams based in sports centers in at least 40 locations across Russia and sending masked recruiters to give “career talks” in schools, according to U.K. defense officials.
- The Wagner Group has also opened at least three new recruitment centers at sports clubs in Russia earlier this month to augment its recruitment base, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The new Wagner recruitment centers are reportedly based at the “Dynamo” sports facility in Samara, the “Antares” Sports Club in Rostov, and in the headquarters of the Russian Boxing Federation in Tyumen.
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Russian Warlord Recruiting Black-Market Soldiers For Ukraine
KYIV, UKRAINE - JANUARY 22: Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest on January 22, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Across Ukraine thousands of civilians are participating in such groups to receive basic combat training and in time of war would be under direct command of the Ukrainian military. While Ukrainian officials have acknowledged the country has little chance to fend off a full Russian invasion, Russian occupation troops would likely face a deep-rooted, decentralised and prolonged insurgency. Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on its border to Ukraine. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
