Russian Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner has lost more than 30,000 people in Ukraine, including about 9,000 killed, the White House said Friday.
The United States estimates that 90% of Wagnerians killed in Ukraine since December have been convicted prisoners, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“Based on previous intelligence, we calculated that 90% of those killed in December, in December alone, were convicted. People who [президент России Владимир Путин] snatched from prisons and thrown onto the battlefield without training, without equipment, without organizational command, just threw them into battle.
“I want to say the following about the Wagner group, especially in relation to Bakhmut. They treat their mostly convict recruits like cannon fodder, literally throwing them through a meat grinder without hesitation,” Kirby said. – According to our estimates, the “Wagnerians” lost more than 30,000 people, including about 9,000 killed. About half of those killed have died since mid-December.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Kirby also said Putin showed “not the slightest interest” in ending the war.
“What does he do instead? Fire cruise missiles and drones at civilian infrastructure, cut electricity, turn off heating, kill children or send them to camps inside Russia, buy drones from Iran and try to buy artillery shells from North Korea. He is not the kind of person who is serious about ending this war. And, in truth, it doesn’t have to end in negotiations. It is possible that she [завершится путем переговоров]when the president is ready [Украины Владимир] Zelenskyyy, but [Путин] can finish it off now by simply withdrawing its troops. But he shows no will to do so,” said John Kirby.
