Since February of this year, the Private Military Company (ČVK) Wagner, under the leadership of the new commander Anton Jelizarov, has renewed the recruitment of mercenaries to be sent to African countries. Since last March, recruitment has been suspended due to the participation of the Wagner family in a “special military operation” in Ukraine, the Vjorstka server wrote at the time.
Over the past month, about two dozen reports of the start of recruitment have been posted on the group’s official Telegram channel. “Wagner’s group has a lot to do in Africa!” attracts one such advertisement and adds contacts to recruiters. And nine recruiters, according to Vjorstka, the Wagner family had never done such a massive recruitment.
Specifically, they are now recruiting fighters for operations in Mali, West Africa. In mid-February, accounts linked to the group reported that Colonel Assimi Goïta, who is in power in Mali, had extended the contract with ČVK Wagner to deploy in the country, writes Nordsint. Recruitment is carried out not only among Russians, but also among residents of Belarus.
“The smartest ones will be assigned to the drone unit. Those who are a little less clever – to the attacking team,” one of the recruiters told the group’s potential “employees” on chat.
The recruitment organizers are looking for willing men between the ages of 22 and 50 and promise them a six-month contract, a salary from 240,000 rubles and life insurance. A similar amount was offered to those who were willing to go to war in Ukraine.
Vjorstka’s reporter posed as a candidate and contacted a recruiter with the code name Serg. “Prepare the whole package of documents and inform me and I will tell you when to arrive on board,” he instructed. “We plan to send the next group in mid-April.” The documents required include a passport, a military record, a certificate from a psychiatrist and an addiction specialist, about being free of infection (jaundice, syphilis, HIV), EKG measurements, about a visit to the dentist and an extract from the criminal record. The Wagners try to solve obstacles for interested parties, for example travel bans.
Another recruiter with the call sign Fraser said the flow of applicants to join the ranks of the mercenary organization in Africa is high. “There is no such risk in Africa as in Ukraine. And the weather is more cheerful there.” he added.
