Article

2023-04-24 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Wagner Group boss tells his mercenaries ‘not to take POWs'

[Kiev Independent] Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin's confidant, has said he will now instruct his mercenaries not to capture prisoners of the war.

"We will kill everyone on the battlefield. Take no more prisoners of the war!", Prigozhin said on April 23 in an audio recording in response to a question posted on the Telegram account of his press service.

Prigozhin's decision was apparently made in response to a so-called "intercepted conversation" posted to an unofficial Wagner-affiliated Telegram account which claimed it was between two Ukrainian soldiers deciding to shoot a prisoner of war.

The voices in the 21-second audio file speak Russian, and don't even mention that their apparent prisoner is Russian or give any indication that they themselves are Ukrainian.

No visual evidence or contextual information is given concerning the recording, making its authenticity highly dubious. Russian media and Telegram channels have notoriously produced many clumsily-made fake "intercepted conversations," claiming to be between Ukrainian soldiers or commanders, in the past.

Russian state-backed Wagner Group has been accused of torturing and executing civilians and POWs in Ukraine, Syria, and other countries.

Former Wagner mercenaries confessed on April 17 to murdering dozens of Ukrainian POWS, civilians, including children.

In the interview with Russian opposition media Gulagu.net, one of the former mercenaries said they had received orders from Prigozhin himself to "clean up" in Soledar and Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, meaning to kill everyone in sight.

After the interview, Prigozhin responded to former mercenaries' accounts, calling them "blatant lies," adding that Wagner "has never touched and does not touch" children. He also said that people "spreading lies" about Wagner were the enemy and that they would be dealt with "in a special way."

Executions and tortures of POWs breach the Geneva Conventions and constitute war crimes.

Posted by Besoeker 2023-04-24 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11139 views ] Top

#1 Prigozin responds:

E. Prigozhin's comments about the audio interception of the conversation of the UAF militants, where they decide to shoot the wounded soldier of the PMC "Wagner" and not take anyone prisoner:

"Of course, I heard this audio interception long before it got into the media. I can say one thing, that this audio intercept about Ukrainians shooting our wounded prisoners, it has a very serious humanitarian significance. And we will never violate international laws of humanism. And the law of humanism begins from the moment you take a person prisoner. Take him prisoner, start taking care of him, treat him, do not injure him and give him home after some time, by exchange or just like you like it.

We gave sometimes and just like that. Therefore, we will not violate the rules of humanism. And we will simply destroy everyone on the battlefield. Therefore, this law will be called the law of the 300th. We still do not know the name of our guy, who is wounded Ukrainian scoundrels were shot, and we will kill all those who are on the battlefield. Take no more prisoners."

Posted by badanov 2023-04-24 00:11|| 2023-04-24 00:11|| Front Page Top

#2 Welcome to the Eastern Front (1941-5)

Posted by Procopius2k 2023-04-24 07:33|| 2023-04-24 07:33|| Front Page Top

#3 Wagner mercenary chief orders his men to stop taking prisoners and 'kill everyone' after video emerges claiming to show Ukrainians shooting a Russian POW

Posted by Skidmark 2023-04-24 11:55|| 2023-04-24 11:55|| Front Page Top

#4 I see the logic.

Posted by mossomo 2023-04-24 13:00|| 2023-04-24 13:00|| Front Page Top

#5 Now Ukrainians will fight to the death. Works for me.

Posted by Hupolunter de Medici7308 2023-04-24 15:05|| 2023-04-24 15:05|| Front Page Top

#6 Now Ukrainians will fight to the death.

That works as long as you have a continuous supply of Ukrainians.

The Prigozhin thing sounds like tit-for-tat, but somebody suggested he is running a psy-op. To wit:
The Warners and the Ukies have been engaged in fierce back and forth fighting with high casualties. Prisoners have been taken on both sides. Usually, when things go wrong, a soldier has 3 choices:
1) Fight to the death
2) Retreat
3) Surrender

Prigozhin is trying to remove Option #3 to make #2 the more appealing choice. If the Ukrainians retreat from Bakmut, then the Wagners do not have to fight them. As Sun Tzu says, to win before fighting is the bestest.

Posted by SteveS 2023-04-24 17:36|| 2023-04-24 17:36|| Front Page Top

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