Media research confirms: Almost 20,000 Wagner mercenaries died during the capture of Bachmut

Nearly 20,000 Russian mercenaries died fighting for the Wagner Group during the Battle of Bakhmut, according to an investigation by BBC Russia and Mediazona published on June 10.

Shortly after the death of the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in August 2023, the media received documents listing posthumous payments to the relatives of those killed in combat in Ukraine between January 2022 and August 2023.

“This document contains more than 20,000 names of those killed,” writes Mediazona, adding: “Most of Wagner’s followers died in the ‘Bakhmut meat grinder’ – more than 19,500 people.”

The figures roughly confirm the figure given by Prigozhin himself in May 2023, when he said he had lost more than 20,000 men in the battle for the city.

Prigozhin’s Wagner began recruiting tens of thousands of inmates from Russian prisons into his ranks in late 2022 as part of his largest recruitment drive, including those convicted of rape and murder.

Together with the more professional and experienced Wagner units, the prisoners proved to be an extremely effective expendable assault force.

Their greatest success was the capture of Bakhmut, a now razed town in Donetsk Oblast, in May 2023 after months of fighting.

The report also found that 17,000 of those killed were former prisoners pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in exchange for service on the front lines.

Based on the identification numbers of those killed, journalists were also able to determine that at least 48,000 prisoners fought for Wagner during this period.

Later that year, in late June 2023, Prigozhin launched a short-lived uprising against the Kremlin, capturing the city of Rostov and marching toward Moscow.

However, less than 24 hours after it began, the uprising was declared over and he announced that he would gather his troops and return to base.

Following a deal allegedly brokered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, which was not publicly announced, the warlord was allowed to be released. He then released a video claiming to be in Africa.

Two months later – on August 23 – a private jet carrying Prigozhin crashed near Moscow. He and everyone else on board were killed.

According to anonymous US officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on August 24, the likely cause was a bomb on board or “some other form of sabotage.”

A later WSJ article pointed the blame at Nikolai Patrushev, Putin’s “right-hand man.”

All eyes are on Kharkiv: Russian troops conquer one Donbass village after another

Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent is not publishing the full names of the soldiers because they disclosed information without the authorization of their command. DONETSK OBLAST – While public attention is focused on Moscow’s renewed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces are steadily advancing in the country’s eastern regions…