Russia’s Wagner private military company has started mass recruitment of russian prisoners who are suffering from serious infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.

Russians mark such sick ‘fighters’ with appropriate wristbands on their hands.

The fact that more than 100 prisoners with confirmed HIV or hepatitis C have been ‘mobilized’ at Penal Colony No. 5 in Metalostroi (Leninhrad Oblast, russia) to the Wagner PMC alone shows that this phenomenon is widespread. The Wagner Group command "marks" the infected soldiers by forcing prisoners to wear red wristbands if they are HIV-positive and white ones if they have hepatitis.

There is growing resentment among other fighters, who are forced to serve alongside those infected. It is known that russian medics to routinely refuse to provide care to the wounded soldiers with hepatitis or HIV.

Several fighters with HIV or hepatitis are already in Ukrainian captivity and have confirmed the information about the mass recruitment of infected prisoners by Wagner private military company.