Russia poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine

[Rogue Valley]

Russia poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine as official warns of plans to 'bombard cities into submission'

3.4.22
Russia is poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks, as a senior Western intelligence official warned Moscow could "bombard cities into submission," an escalation that could lead to significant civilian casualties. The US has already seen "some indications" that Russian mercenaries may be involved in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine "in some places," a senior defense official said earlier this week, but it wasn't clear exactly where or in what numbers. "We've seen some indications that they're being employed," the official said. Now a US official tells CNN that Russia is planning to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries in the near future. Meanwhile, US and western officials expect Russia to increase the pace and strength of its strikes on key Ukrainian population centers, including the capital of Kyiv, from which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has broadcast steady but defiant messages against Russia's aggression. Russia now seems prepared to "bombard cities into submission," one senior western intelligence official said on Friday, which could include a significant increase in the number of civilian casualties.

Although privately owned (Yevgeny Prigozhin), the "Wagner Group" of mercenaries is a quasi-official part of the Russian military. Prigozhin sits on the dias with the generals of all Russia's military branches. Wagner Group gives the Kremlin deniability. Wherever they go (eastern Ukraine, Syria, Central African Republic) they murder and commit war crimes. Wagner Group mercenaries are all ex-Russian military and are bivouacked at a Spetznaz base in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.