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Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is pictured in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 17, 2016. The inset images feature Russian soldiers in front of a U.S. flag, top, and a Russian flag flying in Moscow, bottom. Prigozhin on Thursday claimed that “more than 10 million” Americans had applied to join his mercenary group. Mikhail Svetlov; CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP; KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP
“We received more than 10 million applications from US citizens wishing to join the Wagner [Group] to fight against NATO,” Prigozhin claimed. “At the moment, we are considering about a million American citizens for employment. Therefore, we temporarily suspended the recruitment of volunteers from Russian prisons.”
A Thursday CNN article on the purported end of the prisoner recruitment campaign mentions Prigozhin’s statement but says that he had “joked” about the American applicants claim.
A very small number of U.S. citizens are known to have fought on the side of the Russians in Ukraine, while there is no evidence that millions of Americans are eager to fight Russia’s war.
However, a purported Wagner Group video aimed at recruiting sympathetic U.S. veterans did recently appear online, although it was unclear whether the clip was the same as the ad mentioned in Prigozhin’s statement.
The video, narrated by a man with a heavy Russian accent, appears to be aimed at veterans who support former President Donald Trump and references his “make America great again” campaign slogan.
FBI: Is Wagner Group behind the domestic terrorism in the US? – Google Search https://t.co/CGyQ65cM5E— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) November 14, 2023
Ce général, Commandant de la Zone de Défense et de Sécurité d’Ikopa (Centre) Antananarivo auprès de l’Etat-Major des Armées, a été démis de ses fonctions pour avoir refusé l’ordre “d’en haut” d’aller mater les manifestations anti @SE_Rajoelina #Madagascar pic.twitter.com/nTg8Xt3S2B— Donny (@Randydonny) November 13, 2023
Wagner Group and domestic terrorism in the US – GS https://t.co/eRyNK5qxff The U.S. says the Wagner Group is a transnational criminal organization. Here’s why | CBC News pic.twitter.com/3kI7ZBDUa7— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) November 14, 2023
Wagner Group and domestic terrorism in the US – GS https://t.co/jqCYHqz6cN https://t.co/q8dpmpJ238— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) November 14, 2023
Is Russia’s Wagner Group recruiting US veterans? – GS https://t.co/MNq0X4ZmXG https://t.co/2gnTim4PRE— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) November 14, 2023
#ISIS attacks in north-east #Syria on the rise following withdrawal of #WagnerGroup forces More 🔗 https://t.co/t99HCRDeMG pic.twitter.com/3kafUTnGAy— ETANA (@ETANA_Syria) November 6, 2023
Is it an Act by #Interpol or the #WagnerGroup or #HIREDASSASINS https://t.co/ar2bL86cis— #NoidaVeteran (@MILVETERAN) November 14, 2023
Revealing the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict: Wagner Group’s involvement, Naval victories and EU membership potential https://t.co/0KdWWqtj5j #Ukraine #Russia #EU #Conflict #WagnerGroup #NavalVictory— Daisy Paisley (@DPaisley_Noah) November 12, 2023
Belarus’ Special Forces Trained by ‘Wagner’: Unveiling the Paramilitary Powerhouse#BelarusSpecialForces #WagnerTraining #ParamilitaryPowerhouse #SecurityInsights #BelarusMilitary #WagnerGroup #SpecialForcesTrainingRead more: https://t.co/RJm9za5NfY— Hadeel Hashem (@HadeelHashem2) November 12, 2023
Day by day, the mystery deepens. What really happened to Yevgeny Prigozhin? [https://t.co/adk8dsY24L] #Prigozhin #wagnergroup #war #Death pic.twitter.com/KfCaKNbxjX— Russian Oligarchs (@RussiaOligarchs) November 10, 2023
#Putin #WagnerGroup, #HamasAttack Putin, Wagner Group, And the Hamas Attack of 2023: Materials for the open source analysis and assessments. Selected Articles and Tweets in Brief Posts https://t.co/ppGP95oipv -https://t.co/IPY2vw8unj -The News And Times… pic.twitter.com/WpSViJ63Vr— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) November 12, 2023
A 🇷🇺 #WagnerGroup uniform. Recognition guide not included. But notice two grey-blueish ribbon medals in lowest left side chest: 1. #Bakhmut capture. 2. Bakhmut “mince grinder”. pic.twitter.com/mzUqElibuF— JR2 (@JanR210) November 11, 2023
Is the Wagner Group responsible for the wave of anti-Semitism in France?#France #antisemitisme #WagnerGroup https://t.co/O9RHEIc0mE— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) November 8, 2023
5/ Former #WagnerGroup personnel are reportedly rejecting #Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) recruitment attempts aimed at subsuming #Wagner operations in Africa. https://t.co/0SkLM1U46W pic.twitter.com/qWKMOqnqWh— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) November 14, 2023
That’s crazy. patrushev makes a speech where he over and over refers to putin in the past tense. He wears black. “Sleep well, dear comrade! We will continue your work!”patrushev doesn’t just give a speech! Something must have happened.#putin pic.twitter.com/uCj7x8jGau— Andreas Holger 🇺🇦 (@andreasholger22) November 12, 2023
⚡️#Putin has decided to run in the presidential elections scheduled for March 2024, which will allow him to remain in power until at least 2030, Reuters reported. pic.twitter.com/Bx4IcKEUU2— KyivPost (@KyivPost) November 6, 2023
➡️ My debut piece w/ Col. @JESweet2022. US Army (Rtd.) in the @MailOnline — How #Hamas is aiding #Putin and #Xi’s ideological war against the West. ↖️ https://t.co/2faeOjeOFg— Mark Toth (@MCTothSTL) November 13, 2023
X is failing to remove posts containing hate against Jews, Muslims, and Palestinians, according to a report out Tuesday from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a non-profit being sued by Elon Musk. https://t.co/BuuKUD45jM— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) November 14, 2023
NATO and the EU 🇪🇺 are cooperating to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure which is vital to our societiesTap the picture to learn more ⤵— NATO (@NATO) November 14, 2023
Russian former detective Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, convicted for his role in the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, has been pardoned after fighting in Ukraine, his lawyer said on Tuesday ➡️ https://t.co/uGwSjJFmPg pic.twitter.com/EvvlBPfr4K— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 14, 2023
