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Let’s Talk Wagner
A few things happened over the last forty-eight hours that are important. It’s summarized in this screencap from Twitter, via Russian Telegram.
The first point is that Evgeny Prighozin is no longer recruiting from Russian prisons. Of note, the army is. This is a power move to weaken Wagner. It’s also notable that prisoners feel safer inside the notable Russian prison system.
But now let’s tackle the second one. Indeed, they did run an ad on Russian Telegram intended for an American audience. It is a very specific American Audience. It is the MAGA crowd, the far-right militias, and people like the OathKeepers.
There is a certain level of braggadocio in this post. I doubt ten million Americans contacted Wagner. There are a few reasons. The first is reach. It’s not like it ran in the US market.
I also have my doubts that a million are getting considered by Wagner. Will Wagner get a few recruits from the US? Maybe a few thousand? Yes, that I can believe. Will those become propaganda tools? Absolutely.
A few months ago we had exactly one American highlighted by the DNR because he joined the force. I have no clue what happened to him since. This is how rare this is. I also highlighted another thing. This is Pepe the Frog, a symbol of the far right, and its presence in the Donbas.