Mercenary meatgrinder: The price of Bakhmut

In Season 2, Episode 3 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by the Russian photographer and journalist, David Frenkel, to consider the staggering toll of the “Bakhmut meatgrinder.” They talk through the latest report from independent Russian news platform Mediazona and the BBC Russian Service, “The Price of Bakhmut”, and David’s methodology for determining which prisoners were recruited and from where. David also examines the numbers that were killed, the question marks over whether promised death payments were made, and why the Wagner Group turned to prisons for manpower in the first place.

Find the Guns For Hire podcast on the app of your choice

Guns for Hire podcast is a production of the Atlantic Council’s North Africa Initiative. Taking Libya as its starting point, it explores the causes and implications of the growing use of mercenaries in armed conflict.

The podcast features guests from many walks of life, from ethicists and historians to former mercenary fighters. It seeks to understand what the normalization of contract warfare tells us about the world we currently live in, the future of the international system, and what war could look like in the coming decades.

MENASource May 24, 2024

Libya’s special envoy resigned. What’s next for the country?

By Tahani Elmogrbi

Tahani Elmogrbi interviewed the High National Election Commission chairman to get his perspective on the elections in the current environment after Abdullah Batili’s resignation.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

MENASource May 21, 2024

A Rafah invasion might kill peace between Israel and Egypt

By Shahira Amin

Egypt’s intention to pull out of hostage deal mediation efforts and the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing are alarm bells for Israel.

Conflict Israel

MENASource May 20, 2024

Parliament was dissolved in Kuwait and hardly anyone noticed

By Richard LeBaron

The conflict between the opposition-dominated parliament and the appointed cabinet is not new, and this is not the first time the parliament has been suspended.

Democratic Transitions Elections

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

Learn more

Image: Ukrainian servicemen fire an anti-aircraft gun towards Russian positions on a frontline near the town of Bakhmut, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY