The National Resistance Center has reported that Russia has recruited convicts for the war against Ukraine into a new special assault unit called Shtorm Gladiator.

Source: Ukraine’s National Resistance Center (NRC)

Details: The NRC noted that this is a privileged semi-secret battalion consisting of several hundred convicts with combat experience, named “gladiators” in honour of a former general of the 58th Army who went by the alias “Spartak”.

“The battalion is commanded by an ex-policeman convicted of a brutal murder. This unit selects people with a high level of physical fitness, experience of service in law enforcement agencies, and combat veterans,” the resistance reported.

In addition, the resistance added, former mercenaries from Wagner Private Military Company and Kadyrovites from the Akhmat unit of the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR), part of Russia’s National Guard, drill the “gladiators” at the training ground.

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