Prigozhin confirms that Putin pardoned 5,000 convicts who fought against Ukraine

This was reported by Russian media.  

According to the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, more than 5, 000 convicts whose contracts have expired have already been pardoned. 

"More than 5,000 people have now completed their contract with the Wagner PMC and have been pardoned," Prigozhin said.

Earlier, he claimed that prisoner inmates are contracted for six months. Since the beginning of 2022, the number of prisoners in the Russian penitentiary system has decreased by 32,000 people. A sharp decline in the number of prisoners was observed in the fall, when there were reports of the Wagner PMC recruiting prisoners to participate in the war against Ukraine. 

• On March 21, British Intelligence reported that Vladimir Putin had signed a decree granting amnesty to prisoners who had fought against Ukraine for six months.