Wagner POW recruited from Russian prison ‘used as cannon fodder’ | Life on the frontline

A Russian prisoner turned Wagner soldier said Putin's army used him as ‘cannon fodder’. Ruslan, a middle-aged Wagner soldier who has Hepatitis, was captured fighting on the frontline by the Ukrainian army. He agreed to a filmed interview with the humanitarian group Vans Without Borders (VWB) at an undisclosed location, on the condition his face was blurred. He claims he was lured to the frontline with the promise of being pardoned after six months, but in reality, he and his fellow inmates have been fighting since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. “It’s just a crazy house, they take people bake them and throw them in. The shelling is chaos, it’s not clear where they hit, they don’t check anything.” Said Ruslan. Donate to Vans Without Borders: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/vans-without-borders---saving-ukrainian-lives Exclusive documentary mini-series by Valerie Browne Watch the whole Life on the Frontline series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVCi5G--qaUiRhMQiKK4O7FZ He said his ex-convict status guaranteed the worst possible stations within the Russian army. “Solider stationed in the uttermost unsanitary conditions, this is everyday chaos. The attitude is no one is interested in what will happen to you.” He added. The Wagner prisoner of war, originally from Siberia, has been locked up in the Russian prison system since the 90s. The former writer and poet said he was anti-Putin before the war and produced satire about the Kremlin in his texts. "I joined Wagner with the plan to defer to the other side... You might think I am [anti-Putin] because I fear for my life but I don't." He said Jack Ross is a volunteer aid worker who heads the charity VWB. He and his team have braved countless dangers and travelled along bombed-out roads since March 2022. They have bought relief to vulnerable people left to starve in the wake of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. After more than a year of touring Ukraine distributing aid amid warfare, VWB has forged contacts within the Ukrainian army and in-country security intelligence, who grant them interviews with some of the most hard-to-reach people with insight into the conflict. Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.