Putin's party, 'United Russia', has created its own private military company (PMC) called 'Espanola' The unit consists of football hooligans, Russian radicals, ordinary civilians from impoverished regions of the Russian Federation, and from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
This information was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
‘Espanola’ previously belonged to the ‘Vostok’ battalion and participated in battles against Ukrainian forces. Since 2023, the unit has come under the control of ‘United Russia’ and has actively engaged in recruiting.
Mercenaries are enlisted into the PMC for payment, with a promise of 220,000 rubles (91,500 hryvnias) per month for participating in combat. Contracts are signed for a minimum of six months. They are also lured with ‘insurance payments’ – one million rubles (416,000 hryvnias) for a light injury, two million rubles (832,000 hryvnias) for a moderate injury, three million rubles (1.2 million hryvnias) for a severe injury, and five million rubles (2 million hryvnias) for death.
The intelligence agency added that in recruiting centers for ‘Espanola’ operating in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, volunteers are promised 220,000 rubles per month for participating in combat actions against Ukraine. The contract is for a minimum of six months.
“However, financial motivation is only a cover. For most, the first battle is a one-way ticket. The killed and severely wounded among the recruited ‘cannon fodder’ are not taken from the battlefield; they are registered as ‘missing’ to avoid paying rubles to the relatives of those sent to death by Moscow,” summarized the intelligence report.
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