A new video posted on Russian social media by a group of men who called themselves prisoners and signed up to fight in Ukraine shows them trying to convince their “colleagues” in prison to join them.

“Hi to all, [colonia penală] IC-3 from St. Petersburg,” the prisoner introduced himself. “We have been fighting here for 5 months, defending the Motherland. Everything is fine, we are alive and well. A lot has changed in our lives in 5 months. We have chosen this path and are following it,” he said.

Then the floor switches to another alleged convict, who claims that he is from the IK-7 colony in the city of Fornosovo, Leningrad region.

“Congratulations to all brothers, we are waiting for everyone here. From my experience, I became a plasterer in 5 months. I am moving up in my career, mastering new territories. I get medals and awards, everything is great. Beside us are our brothers in arms who walk beside us. Life is really changing here, there are every opportunity to move forward in this direction,” he says.

“Everything is known here, problems and pain, those who survive continue with us, others are not so lucky. Anyway, that’s it [soarta] assault units. I am already proud of what I have achieved. It is an unforgettable feeling when you return home with medals. I can already imagine it. Mom, dad, before you is a warrior son, not a shepherd,” he continued.

“Life is changing, it is changing for the better, we are occupying new territories. We never back down, wherever we are, wherever we go. So guys, we are waiting for you all here. See you again,” concludes the prisoner.

Russian prisoners were thrown into the “meat grinder” in Bakhmut

Although the video was obviously shot for propaganda purposes, if the alleged detainees in the photo had indeed made it to the front 5 months ago, it would mean that they were part of the first wave of convicts recruited into Russian prisons by the mercenaries of the Wagner PMC.

However, such a version looks unlikely, given the huge losses of captured mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman nicknamed “Putin’s cook”.

The context in which this footage appears is also interesting, as it was taken just as Wagner PMC mercenaries appear to be re-pushing the Ukrainian defense line in the Bakhmut area after months of unsuccessful attacks.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that its forces had captured 3 villages near this strategic city in the Donetsk region,

The first village is located approximately 25 km north of Bakhmut, and the second approximately twenty kilometers to the south. Later that day, the military command in Moscow announced the capture of a third settlement south of the city of Andriivka.

The Ukrainian army has not yet confirmed these losses.

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