Russia

Wagner Group Tells Mercenaries to Find a New Job

VIOLENT AND UNEMPLOYED

“They’re not letting us in the [war against Ukraine],” a rep for the group said in a new audio message.

A flag with the logo of Wagner private mercenary group is attached to a car during an automobile rally at a patriotic festival marking Russia's National Flag Day in the Moscow region, Russia, August 23, 2023
Reuters/Yulia Morozova

Mercenaries for the notorious Wagner Group have been told to find a new job since the powers that be will no longer let them join the war against Ukraine. That’s according to a new audio message circulated among members of the group, the authenticity of which was confirmed with representatives of Wagner, according to the independent outlet iStories. In the one-and-a-half-minute clip, a representative said that despite having “tens of thousands of trained fighters” ready to wage war, “they’re not letting us in the [war against Ukraine]” due to “well-known circumstances.” He said the situation was equally dire in Africa and the Middle East, where the group faces “tough competition” from the Russian Defense Ministry as it seeks to neuter the shadow army. “Either wait, or search for other ways to make money,” he said, adding that “if our team is allowed back in [Ukraine], then we’ll actively resume recruitment activities and there will be work.”

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