Complicating matters for Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, most of the surviving convicts he recruited to fight are nearing the end of their six-month contracts. They will soon be pardoned and allowed to return to Russian society.

Not only will the pardons severely constrict Wagner’s impact on the battlefield, but the British Ministry of Defense said the sudden influx of violent offenders with recent and traumatic combat experience will likely present a “significant challenge for Russia’s war-time society.”

Prigozhin and Wagner were barred earlier this year from recruiting prisoners. So, the private military company is now looking for future soldiers of fortune through online campaigns and campus visits to Russian high schools.

[They’ve provided most of the human cannon fodder for Russia in the Donbas lately. Without them, the regular Russian army units will be more exposed. Expect Putin to order their contracts extended. — Ed]