In Russia and in the territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation, seven cemeteries have already been discovered, in which at least 995 people are buried, who could take part in hostilities in Ukraine in the ranks of the Wagner PMC. This is reported by the Russian service of the BBC.
Mass graves are located in the Krasnodar Territory, in Novosibirsk and Irkutsk, as well as in the Samara, Sverdlovsk and Moscow regions. Another cemetery is near Lugansk.
Judging by open data, many of the buried were convicts who had not yet completed their term in the colonies. Relatives of at least 42 of those buried did not know about their death and spent several months trying to find out their fate, the BBC reports, noting that most often recruited convicts are buried in the places where their relatives live. But at the moment, several dozen cases are also known when the dead, who had close relatives, were buried in other regions, and their relatives were not informed about this.
Based on data published by the Federal Penitentiary Service, Mediazona concluded that in September and October 2022 alone, with the participation of Wagner PMCs, at least 23 thousand prisoners of Russian colonies were sent to war. According to the US, more than 40,000 convicted Russians are taking part in the war with Ukraine.