Russia’s Mercenary Army Is Using Pornhub to Recruit New Members

When convicted felons are not enough for your brutal mercenary army, who do you target next? Porn-watchers, if you’re Russia’s Wagner Group. Vladimir Putin’s guns-for-hire have turned to Pornhub for recruiting, posting a highly suggestive ad to get young Russian men off the couch and onto the blood-soaked battlefields of Ukraine. In the ad, a lipstick-wearing woman twirls a lollipop on her tongue, as a seductive voice in the background says, “We are the most fucking amazing private army in the world. We are hiring fighters from all parts of Russia. Don’t whack off, apply for a job with the Wagner Group.” Then a phone number with links to Wagner Group recruiters pops up on the screen. There may be a deeper reason why the Wagner Group is so desperate for recruits. Experts have speculated that Putin may be purposefully trying to weaken the group by putting its soldiers on the frontlines of a brutal siege after Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has begun to criticize the Russian president in recent weeks.