2024-10-05 11:55:57
The Wagner Group fighters captured by the rebels in July of this year are most likely already dead.
Reuters reports this, citing information obtained from various sources.
The exact number of prisoners has not been established, but it is assumed that there were at least two, and possibly more.
In particular, representatives of the “Wagner group” informed the families of the prisoners that their loved ones had died. The publication also refers to messages in a Telegram from the brother of one of the mercenaries and the words of relatives of three more prisoners, who confirmed that their loved ones did not survive captivity.
However, a Tuareg spokesman denied this information, claiming that the captured Russians and Malian army soldiers were still alive.
“All our prisoners are alive. Wagner is lying,” he said, but did not provide evidence to support his words.
At first, the Wagner Group said that most of the fighters who took part in the battle were missing. But with the help of open sources and facial analysis, Reuters was able to identify 31 mercenaries who disappeared or were captured after the skirmish with the Tuaregs. Despite the recognition of losses during the clashes, Wagner did not provide specific information on the number of deaths. Also, the Malian army, fighting together with the Russians, did not announce its losses. The Tuareg rebels said that they killed 84 Russians and 47 Malians, while at least two Russians were called prisoners.
The defeat of Wagner in Mali took place at the end of July, when the Tuaregs inflicted significant damage on the local junta that seized power in the country and on the mercenaries of the Russian private military company. During multi-day battles, the rebels captured not only equipment, but also prisoners, including Russians. Later it became known that the Tuaregs also shot down two Wagner helicopters.
Let us recall that Kursor wrote that the Russians have sufficient reserves of resources on the territory of Ukraine to conduct offensive operations in several directions at once over the coming months. However, according to military expert Oleg Zhdanov, it is unlikely that they will be able to find additional resources for further active operations.