Wagner Group

"By the middle of May, we plan on increasing the number of fighters in our units by about 30,000," Prigozhin said.

In their ranks are murderers, thieves and a self-declared "Satanist." 5 agreed to be interviewed by phone and messaging app. What follows is the most detailed insider account of Wagner's convict army

Russia's Defense Ministry has likely been pushing hard to conquer Vuhledar in Ukraine to compete with the Wagner private military company.

The ad features a woman twirling a lollipop in her mouth as a voiceover encourages viewers to sign up for a position at the Wagner group.

For a decade, offensive efforts have failed to stop an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

Under Russia's current laws, "discrediting" the army can be punished by up to five years in prison, while spreading knowingly false information about it can attract a 15-year jail sentence.

Some 20,000 people have reached Italy so far this year, compared to 6,100 in the same period of 2022.

At least 20,000 prisoners were recruited by Wagner to take part in the Russian invasion, but in December Reuters reported that this could have been as high as 40,000.

'Units of the private military company Wagner have taken control of the eastern part of Bakhmut,' Prigozhin said in a voice recording.

Yevgeny Prigozhin had said on Friday that his units had "practically surrounded Bakhmut", where fighting has intensified in the past week.