Russia-Ukraine War: Against the background of the recent failures on the battlefield and the harsh criticism from home, the Russian army continues the many attacks in Kiev and in many areas of the country. Those who fight alongside the Russian army are the mercenaries from the “Wagner group”, the military militia that works in the service of President Putin. Meanwhile, the group that already caused a stir during the war, did it again, when it sent a “gift” to the Parliament of the European Union.
The “gift” sent to the European Union, arrived in a violin case, and inside it was a hammer, with red markings, which look like blood. The hammer has become the unofficial symbol of the Kremlin-linked group, as its fighters have reportedly used the hammers to eliminate targets in missions overseas. In a video posted on one of the group’s Telegram channels, one of the European Union parliamentarians places the bag on the table, opens it, and in front of his eyes the hammer that was “redeemed in blood” is revealed.
Yevgeny Prigozhin handed over to the European Parliament a “bloody” sledgehammer with an engraved logo of Wagner PMC
The “gift” in a violin case was brought by Prigozhin’s lawyer Igor Eliseev from St. Petersburg and handed it over to bloggers who supposedly should send the instrument to Europe. pic.twitter.com/AeHGOHqSYz
— SOTA (@Sota_Vision) November 24, 2022
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of the Russian president and one of the financiers of the group, stated that “the hammer was sent to the European Parliament as information, before they decide whether to put the group on the blacklist of terrorist organizations.” He added that he also expresses his anger that “this week the European Union declared Russia a terrorist state, because of the invasion of Russia.” Sources in the European Parliament told the British “Telegraph” that they have not yet received the hammer and said that they suspect that it may be a prank. Daniel Freunda member of the German parliament, said that “if anyone needed further proof to you that Russia is a country that finances terrorism, they got further proof”.
The unusual case occurs, after earlier this month, a document was published in which a fighter in the service of the Wagner group, smashes the head of a Russian prisoner who tried to escape to Ukraine, in order not to enlist in the army. Other videos documented the mercenaries killing people captured while fighting in the Middle East. The Kremlin previously denied the existence of the Wagner group, and according to estimates, about 23 thousand fighters are fighting in the service of the group.
As you may remember, last March the BBC reported how Russia was recruiting mercenaries to its ranks. According to the report, the BBC managed to contact a mercenary, who served on behalf of Russia in Ukraine and agreed to share how he and his friends were recruited. According to him, the recruiters focused on veteran mercenaries, mainly from the “Wagner” mercenary group, which functions in secret because according to international law and Russian law – it is forbidden to engage in the profession. The recruiters contacted Wagner’s men through private Telegram groups several weeks before the fighting began.
The mercenaries were invited to a “picnic in Ukraine”, with the recruiters even specifically stating that they would be served “salo” dishes – pork fat that is traditionally eaten in Ukraine. In the announcement, the recruiters mainly addressed “those with a criminal record, people in debt, professionals who are forbidden to take part in a company of mercenaries or people without a foreign passport”, and asked them to submit an application. The recruiters, according to the report, also contacted people from the Luhansk, Crimea and Donetsk regions and invited them to join their mercenary groups.