Up to 20,000 Russian convicts recruited by the Wagner mercenary group were killed in fighting in Bakhmut over the past few months, British intelligence said in its daily report on July 21. The last convicts recruited under a program called Project K are likely to be released in the coming days, but many will probably stay on as contract fighters, it said. Some 40,000 convicts were under contract with Wagner at the peak of Project K early this year, it said. A rare recent Russian military success, capturing Bakhmut also represented "one of the bloodiest episodes in modern military history," British intelligence added.
U.K. Intelligence Estimates Up To 20,000 Convicts Recruited By Wagner Were Killed In A Few Months
A Wagner soldier patrols a street near Bakhmut. (file photo)