The head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner announced Friday the opening of 58 recruitment centers in 42 cities of Russia, at a time when his men are on the front line in the bloody battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine.

"In 42 cities of the Russian Federation, recruitment centers on behalf of Wagner have opened. New fighters are coming there, (they) will accompany us to defend their country and their families," businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin was quoted as saying on Telegram by the press service of his company Concord.

The Wagner Group is at the forefront of the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, and Yevgeny Prigozhin himself has acknowledged that many of his organization's fighters have been killed there.

From prisons to sports halls

Against a backdrop of tensions with the defense minister, Yevgeny Prigozhin has repeatedly complained that he can no longer recruit in Russian prisons, where Wagner massively conscripted inmates in exchange for sentence reductions.

Changing tactics, he recently turned to gyms to open recruitment points to attract potential recruits. These 58 recruitment centres appear to have been opened, for the most part, in gyms and martial arts clubs.

Prigozhin, however, did not say how many contract fighters he planned to recruit through these centers and how soon.

This announcement comes as Wagner has suffered very heavy losses in the fighting that has lasted for several months around Bakhmut, a city in the Ukrainian Donbass that has become the epicenter of hostilities with the Kiev army.

Divorce between Wagner and the Russian General Staff

To stem a series of humiliating battlefield setbacks last summer, Russia announced in September the mobilization of 300,000 reservists. At the same time, the Wagner group was allowed to recruit several thousand fighters in Russian prisons, in exchange for an amnesty after six months on the front.

But in recent weeks, tensions between the General Staff and Wagner's boss have erupted into the open, while Russia, on the offensive in the Donbass, has made only weak progress.

Yevgeny Prigozhin has repeatedly multiplied virulent criticism of the Russian military hierarchy, criticizing in turn its inefficiency, slowness and bad decisions in Ukraine. He accused the authorities of not providing the necessary ammunition to his men, and the defense minister and the army chief of wanting to destroy his Wagner group.

Russian army advances around Bakhmut

"Despite the colossal resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces, we will move forward. Despite the sticks that are put in our wheels (...), we will overcome this together, "he vowed Friday.

Despite disagreements between Wagner and the army, Russian forces have advanced in recent days around Bakhmut, threatening to encircle the city, which the Ukrainians continue to defend fiercely.

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