Russia sent to the east of Ukraine about a thousand mercenaries from the Wagner group, close to the Russian authorities. Actually, the militants of the group, one way or another, have been participating in the battles in the Donbass since 2014. However, officials in the West doubt that sending them to the eastern front now will somehow change the course of the war..

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Russia suffered heavy losses in five weeks of fighting. NATO estimates that about 40,000 soldiers were wounded or killed. At the same time, the output forces before the invasion amounted to 160 thousand soldiers.. In the vicinity of Kyiv, the Russian army was forced to retreat. However, the aggressor continues to indiscriminately destroy Ukrainian cities, in particular, Mariupol.

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The former mercenary said that a few weeks before the start of the war, recruitment began in Ukraine. And " Business Insider writes that Kremlin-linked militants have a 'formidable' reputation. According to the interlocutor of the publication, this time even high-ranking Wagner leaders were sent to Ukraine.. Additional forces have been withdrawn from Syria and Africa.

In December 2021, the Wagner Group was sanctioned for " They were accused of " However, as an unnamed official pointed out during a conversation with Business Insider, Wagner's formidable reputation stems from violations of the law and the rules of war.. Therefore, even more involvement of mercenaries in the war against Ukraine may be a “big” risk for Russia, which may turn out to be unworthy.

“If someone sends a thousand Wagner soldiers, hoping that this will play a decisive role in operations in the Donbass, then he needs to take a break and think carefully about the combat capability of his troops as a whole,” the source said..