Alexander Platov was in prison for killing his spouse when an unexpected opportunity occurred.
In 2022, he was hired into the Wagner mercenary group to eliminate in Russias invasion of Ukraine in exchange for a pardon.
Six months later, he was a totally free man.Unable to reintegrate into civilian life, Platov signed a new contract with the Defense Ministry and went back to the front at the end of 2024.
This time, the former mercenary and his fellow ex-convicts were treated as expendable.
After making it through a suicide assault and sustaining serious shrapnel wounds, Platov shared his story with The Moscow Times.While The Moscow Times might not individually verify all of Platovs claims, reporting by exiled media and Russian and Ukrainian sources proves a few of the information of his account.The Defense Ministrydid not right away respond to The Moscow Times request for comment.
Life on the outside was hard.
Im a f *** ing convict, everybody understood I was in prison a number of times.
Plus, Im called someone who likes to consume.
I believed Id be seen as a hero [after fighting in Ukraine], but they took a look at me like I was a piece of garbage, stated Platov, 35.
Born in the late 1980s into a poor household in Ulyanovsk, a city on the Volga River, Platov initially broke the law at 17.
I was jailed for automobile theft.
8 years.
Then I got married.
She cheated.
I stabbed her.
Thirteen more years.
Thats where Wagner can be found in, he said.In October 2022, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin landed in his prison yard by helicopter to personally hire prisoners.
We didnt take him seriously, Platov recalled.
I talked back.
The screws [ prison guards] pulled me aside.
Uncle Zhenya [Prigozhin] got my ear and said, Join Wagner or rot here.
You know, in jail, the convicts were all set to do anything to go out.
I signed up with for flexibility too, and the cash was excellent, however I intended to clean my sins away with blood and sweat.
Yuri Borovskikh, a human rights activist from the Rus Sidyashchaya (Russia Behind Bars) NGO, said Prigozhin recruited around 50,000 prisoners into his Wagner Group throughout the intrusion.
Since taking control of convict recruitment from Wagner in early 2023, the Defense Ministry has signed up over 100,000 detainees, he said.As a Wagner fighter, Platov led a reconnaissance group in Bakhmut.
I got a silver medal for bravery.
From Putin.
Imagine that after 2 serious convictions.
They offered me experienced status.
When I came back, I purchased a house and got a task, however nobody respected me.
Individuals believed I got out just to conserve my ass which I purchased the medal.
I went back to the draft office and signed another contract to safeguard the Motherland or so I thought.Security officers at penal nest in Russia.Yevgeny Yepanchintsev/ TASSBorovskikh said individuals like Platov suffer from intensified trauma.
Numerous reoffend, return to prison and register for military service again.After signing a contract with the Defense Ministry, Platov was released near the Ukrainian stronghold of Pokrovsk, where he led a storm group under the 110th Motor Rifle Brigade.
The Defense Ministry tossed us into this militia like pets.
On paper, its the spetsnaz.
In reality, theyre sending out outlaws and Chechnya vets.
No retreats, no holidays.
Maybe [youll get one] in two years, if they find your skeleton and identify it, he said.The treatment Platov described is similar to how recently hired convicts are dealt with today.According to Borovskikh, military agreements for convicts now last until completion of the war, and males who sign them have essentially no rights.
Several penal battalions exist, like this brigade or Storm Z.
Most have no households.
Their lives are entirely in the hands of their commanders.
Those with experience may be useful.
The rest? Simply meat for assaults, Borovskikh said.Platov stated he thinks the 110th Brigade exists in part to penalize previous Wagner fighters.
There are no real Wagner guys here, just outlaws, the leftovers.
If the genuine Wagner systems came back from Africa or Belarus, Ukraine would be f *** ed.
Russia would be f *** ed too, he stated.
The only thing they offered us was a rifle.
Everything else, from underwear to helmets, we needed to purchase ourselves.
Our incomes, varying from 210,000 to 250,000 rubles ($2,300 to $2,750), get eaten up by food, gear, whatever.
You survive nevertheless you can.
Alexander PlatovPlatov said the brigade made no development near Pokrovsk.
His very first objective was to catch the town of Zelene Pole, which his squadron handled to do.
Came rotation.They sent out in replacements: naval infantry.
Contract soldiers from the Black Sea Fleet.
The fleet does not even exist any longer.
Twenty-five ships sunk, he stated.
One marine hadnt held a rifle since his oath event 20 years ago.They told him hed be securing f ** king kindergartens in Donetsk.Instead, he stated, the marines were thrown into the frontline forests with just basic assault rifles and two publications each.
Not long after arriving, an American Bradley fighting lorry approached, opened fire at 200 meters, released infantry and wiped out the detachment before drawing back.
They [the Ukrainians] didnt even bother to inhabit the position, Platov added.
If they had actually known how bad the circumstance was, they would have taken all 3 of our lines.
The armies next objective showed to be fatal to Platovs comrades and almost eliminated him.
He blamed not the opponent, however the incompetence and cruelty of his own command.The squad was dropped 25 kilometers ahead of friendly lines near Ocheretyne without any support and very little products.
We were informed to bring our own food and water.
I led the storm group, but we never ever reached enemy positions, he said.Three stayed behind to maintain communications.
The rest progressed and were torn apart.
The command told us, Advance, weve got our drone assisting you.
I said, Which f *** ing drone? There are 3 enemy drones to our right and 2 to the.
Are you nuts? They addressed, If you do not move right f *** ing now, our own kamikaze drone will hit your trench.
So we charged ahead.
We didnt even reach the contact line before Ukrainian drones destroyed us, he said.Platov was hit in both legs, his back and his spine.
There was no medical evacuation.
I crawled for four days, 25 kilometers.
Only 2 of us made it through out of 9.
We pissed in bottles, took antiviral medications and drank.
Thats how we endured, he said.Upon his return, Platov said he was treated like a traitor.They said, Youre the leader? Wheres your group? Youre a Wagner guy, werent you expected to be tougher? he recalled.
I wasnt the one offering the orders it was those morons sitting in their comfortable headquarters.Ordered to return to the front right away, Platov refused what he saw as an outrageous need.
Just then did commanders approve a momentary pullback.
In Wagner, it was brotherhood.
No ranks, no insults.
Everyone was sibling.
You defended the guy beside you.
Here? Youre dirt, he said.Yevgeny Prigozhin with Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut, Ukraine.@Prigozhin_hatServing in the Donetsk Peoples Republics 110th brigade (formerly the 100th), he said Russian military police in the occupied Donetsk area would forcibly conscript males.
They say Ukrainians kidnap males for mobilization.
Its the same s *** here.
The military police stop buses, pull the males out, including trainees and seniors, and send them to the front, he said.BBC reporting supports Platovs claim that Wagner treated inmates more leniently.
Life expectancy for ex-convicts in the mercenary business was higher than for those hired by the Defense Ministry.The brotherhood Platov explained may come from prison characteristics carried over into Wagners units.Borovskikh suggested that Wagners recruitment practices permitted the casual prison hierarchy to rollover onto the battleground, fostering a sense of loyalty and solidarity, although only amongst choose groups.
Wagner was Prigozhins project less bureaucratic.
They hired anybody and formed different units.
The Defense Ministry has a list: crimes like extremism, terrorism or pedophilia disqualify you.
Otherwise, they will take you, he said.Platov now resides in a dorm room in occupied Ukraine, paying of pocket after being denied hospitalization.
Still, he hasnt altered his mind about re-enlisting.
Naturally, Im returning, he stated.
Im not going home till I get payback for my leg.
Its not simply vengeance.
I like my nation.
People say I opted for the cash.
Sure, I got 2.5 million rubles ($30,441) for an agreement.
I wouldve gone anyhow.
I simply didnt understand Id end up in this f *** ng militia.Borovskikh stated that while Russia offers the war as a patriotic cause, many detainees join for cash and freedom, with patriotism functioning as a post-rationalization.
According to Rus Sidyashchaya, about 25,000 convicts were pardoned and freed after serving with Wagner in Ukraine.
Consisting of Defense Ministry agreements, this overall nears 50,000.
According to the independent news site 7x7, ex-combatants have dedicated at least 294 murders after returning home from the war.
An earlier quote by the independent news outlet Vyorstka said as lots of as 750 individuals might have fallen victim to violence at the hands of Ukraine war veterans.Reports from banished media and Russian and Ukrainian sources substantiate a few of the details of Platovs story: Reports emerged in autumn 2022 of a man resembling Prigozhin checking out prisons in the Saratov region, where Platov had been serving his sentence for murder.The Mediazona news websitereported that soldiers from the 110th Brigade locked servicemen and even a Chechen businessman in pet kennels as punishment.Another former detainee who battled in the 110th Brigade after defending Wagner informed Mediazona that he dealt with comparable abuse.The 110th Brigade has actually been active on the Pokrovsk front, with intense fighting around Zelene Pole confirmed by both Russian and Ukrainian military sources.