U.S. estimates that more than 30,000 Wagner mercenaries have died in Ukraine

The U.S. estimates that more than 30,000 mercenaries of the Wagner groupsupported by Russia, have been killed since the beginning of the war in Ukrainethe White House reported Friday.

U.S. Presidential National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a news conference that of those casualties, he estimated that about 9,000 have occurred since mid-December last with the intensification of the battle at Bajmutin the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine.

Kirby added that based on the intelligence information available to the U.S., he believes that 90% of Wagner’s casualties in December would be convicts enlisted in the organization.. “They are using their recruits, mostly convicts, as cannon fodder, they are literally throwing them to a meat grinder“, he assured.

U.S. imposes sanctions on mercenaries

The US has imposed sanctions against the Russian mercenary group Wagner for its involvement in the war in Ukraine and designated it as a “transnational criminal organization”which opens the possibility of continuing to punish this organization and its allies around the world economically.

In January, the U.S. estimated that the group would have some 50,000 troops deployed in Ukraineof which 10,000 would be contractors and 40,000 ex-convicts, and announced that Wagner recruits guerrillas in Russian prisons.