Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Russians ‘kill 19 draftees in fight snub’
RUSSIAN mercenaries allegedly killed 19 recruits who refused to fight on the front line in Ukraine.
Members of the Wagner Group – dubbed the private army of Vladimir Putin – were said to have executed the draftees last week after first trying to poison their breakfast.
Russian media, which used Ukrainian sources to make the allegations against private company Wagner, said the alleged atrocity came soon after 109 recruits arrived in Belogorivka, Luhansk.
They were ordered to retake a forest area nearby but it is claimed at least 19 recruits were killed for rebelling – while the rest launched an attack in which most of them died.