In a startling revelation, Ukrainian military intelligence claims that Vladimir Putin's de facto political party, United Russia, has been actively recruiting and deploying its own private army to fight in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian defence ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence, United Russia has enlisted members from a unit primarily composed of "football hooligans" who volunteer with a known militant group called the Vostok Battalion.
The intelligence agency alleges that these mercenaries have been promised a substantial monthly payment of 220,000 rubles to participate in what they describe as "meat assaults" against Ukraine, with operations reportedly coordinated under the unit name "Espanola."
"For most recruits, the first fight is a one-way ticket," warns the Ukrainian intelligence agency. Disturbingly, it claims that the Russian forces do not evacuate the dead and seriously wounded from the battlefield among the recruited 'cannon fodder.' Instead, they are allegedly registered as 'missing' to avoid paying compensation to the families of those sent to fight on behalf of Moscow.
"The Russians do not take the dead and seriously wounded from among the recruited 'cannon fodder' from the battlefield. They are registered as 'missing' in order not to pay the relatives roubles for the breadwinner sent by Moscow to death," states the intelligence report.