Russia's PMC Wagner chief's big warning as he recruits fighters: 'World War III is coming'

Yevgeny Prigozhin, Chief of the Wagner paramilitary group that is backed by the Kremlin, sent a big warning saying that World War III was coming as he urged the Russian men to enlist and fight in the Ukraine war. "Guys, sign up for Wagner PMC. Yesterday they were ordinary guys, and today they are on the defence of our country, on the defense of justice. World War III is near," Prigozhin said in the footage published by his press service on Telegram.

Wagner's head, dubbed "Putin's chef" announced that Wagner has launched 42 outreach centres across Russia to replenish the ranks of his private army and make up for the losses on the frontlines in the eastern Donbass region. Paramilitary company's fighters have been leading assaults for the control of Bakhmut for nearly 11 months in eastern Ukraine — a city that Prigozhin labelled as the war's “meat grinder." The group also reportedly visited schools in Moscow under the recruitment drive.

Wagner recruits jail convicts; pardons them after 6 months of paid military service

In an audio message, Prigozhin noted that there were many new fighters coming forward to join the war. He, although, gave no indication of the exact figure of the recruitment. Wagner's chief appealed to the Russian Defense Ministry to speed up the supply of ammunition ahead of the Ukrainian spring counteroffensive. The group was also reported to have recruited an estimated 40,000 convicts from Russia’s prisons. They were promised pardon should they complete six months of paid military service under Wagner’s command on the battlefields. 

“In spite of the colossal resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces, we will go forward,” Prigozhin was heard saying in the audio shared on Wagner channel. “Despite the sticks in the wheels that are thrown at us at every step, we will overcome this together," he continued to add. 

PMC Wagner mercenaries have been at the forefront of fighting the bloodiest battle in Bakhmut since Europe's World War II. Emphasising that the Ukrainians were readying to launch a counteroffensive to reclaim the occupied territories, Prigozhin said: “The Ukrainian army will launch a counteroffensive and somewhere will be able to break through the defences. Of course, we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening.” He had also made claims that Russia's President Vladimir Putin had "cut off all communication" with him in order "to get me to stop asking for ammunition" for Wagner. According to the statistics of the US National Security Council, Wagner's 80% of troops fighting in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons.