Head of the independent Russian human rights organization “Rus Sidyashchaya” (Russia Behind Bars) Olga Romanova claimed on January 23 that out of the assessed 50,000 prisoners that Wagner has recruited, only 10,000 are fighting on frontlines in Ukraine due to high casualty, surrender, and desertion rates.

This Wagner Groups casualty number is very plausible considering Wagner’s model of using convicts as cannon fodder in highly attritional offensive operations. SensusQ has assessed on 16th in January that the battle of Soledar is likely to remain the Wagner Group's greatest military achievement in Ukraine due the reduced access to the military supplies, high attrition of the troops and stalled recruitment efforts. Olga Romanova’s claim fully supports the SensusQ assessment.