The infamous Wagner group, which is fighting on the Russian side in the war in Ukraine, may now have a new and bloodthirsty reinforcement.
In an interview with the state-run Russian TV media Vesti Irkutsk, ex-policeman Mikhail Popkov (58) talks about his dreams and plans.
– What are you dreaming about?
– To join the army, answers Popkov, who is nicknamed “The Werewolf”, and is currently serving two life sentences. According to Russian media, he has more than 80 murders on his conscience, between 1992 and 2010.
That need not disqualify him from a job in the infamous Wagner group.
– Looks like an apocalypse
“Putin’s Chef”
In today’s Russia, there are also opportunities for people who are heavily criminally charged.
According to US intelligence, The Wagner group around 40,000 convicts in its ranks in Ukraine, out of a total of approximately 50,000 who are fighting for the group in the war.
The leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s chef”, visited Russian prisons this autumn to recruit soldiers for his infamous army of mercenaries.
In the interview with Vesti Irkutsk, Popkov says that he believes his competence is now “quite in demand” in the military. A number of media, including Swedish The Expresswrote at the weekend that he now wants to fight in Ukraine.
It is unclear where the boundaries are set for who can join the Wagner group.
The downside is that those who try to withdraw before the end of the contract period risk being relentlessly pursued and killed.
That is why he is Putin’s most dangerous
