Head of Russian mercenary group show for video dey recruit prisoners against Ukraine

Di founder of Wagner mercenary group for Russia don appear inside one video wey leak as dem dey attempt to recruit prisoners to fight Ukraine.

Inside di video wey BBC verify, Yevgeniy Prigozhin dey address one large group of detainees.

Oga Prigozhin tell prisoners say dem go exchange dia prison sentence wit service to im group.

Di video confirm speculation say Russia wan boost dia forces by recruiting convicts.

While Russian law no allow dis kind tin, Oga Prigozhin insist say “nobodi go dey behind bars” if dem serve wit im group.

“If you serve six months (for Wagner), you go dey free,” im tok. But im warn potential recruit against running away and say “if you arrive for Ukraine and decide say no be for you, we go execute you”.

Im also inform di prisoners about Wagner rules wey ban alcohol, drugs and "sexual contacts wit local women, flora, fauna, men - anytin".

Oga Prigozhin wey speak for wetin look like di penal colony's exercise yard also tok about di difficulties Russia don face for di conflict.

Im tell di prisoners say "dis na hard war, wey no even dey close to Chechnya and di odas”.

E neva dey clear who film di video, wen e happun or how dem release am.

But di BBC don use geolocation for di video and e carri us go one penal colony for Russia’s central Mariy El Republic. Analysts do dis by conducting reverse image search on one church wey dey di background of di video, wey match to penal colony number six.

Dem also use facial recognition software tools on the screengrab of di recruiter face, and e show positive match between 71% and 75% wit one actual foto of Oga Prigozhin.

Separately, sources confirmed to di BBC's Russian service say di pesin for di video dey likely to be Oga Prigozhin.

"Dis na im voice. Im intonation. Im words and manner of speaking... I dey 95 percent sure say na im be dis and dis no be montage," one source tell di BBC.

"Very similar, im manner, and im voice dey very similar," anoda pesin tok.

Di company of di 61-year-old man, Concord, refuse to deny say im appear inside di video, as im note di "monstrous" similarity wen Russian state media approach am.

Oga Prigozhin – wey be close padi of Russia President Vladimir Putin - don previously deny links to di Wagner group, whose forces don dey deployed for Ukraine, Syria and several African conflicts.

But for di video, di oligarch bin dey tell inmates say im be "representative of one private war company".

"Maybe you don hear di name - Wagner Group," im ask di group of prisoners.

Im say recruits gass be in "good physical shape", before im reveal say di first 40 recruits from one penal colony for St Petersburg bin dey deployed during one attack on Vuhlehirska Power Station for eastern Ukraine last June.

Im tok say di prisoners bin storm di Ukrainian trenches and attack Kyiv's troops wit knives. Three of di men - including one 52-year-old wey spend more dan 30 years for detention – bin dey killed, Oga Prigozhin tok.

Later for di video, im warn di convicts, wey wear black jump suits, say dem go dey expected to kill diasef wit hand grenades if dia opponents wan capture dem.

Di Wagner group's origins dey mysterious, but belief dey say na ex-Russian army officer Dmitri Utkin form am.

Di BBC bin previously identify links between di group and Oga Prigozhin wey dem know as “Putin chef”. Dem dey call am di name sake of say im rise from pesin wey dey manage restaurant and as caterer for di Kremlin.

Belief dey say dem deploy di collective to Ukraine since 2014, and since Russia invasion for February, Ukrainian forces don carri out strikes on wetin dem say na Wagner bases for di occupied eastern Ukraine.

For August, US defence officials say up to 80,000 Russian troops bin dey killed or sustain injury since di war begin for February, and Moscow don repeatedly turn to Wagner to fill di gap wey di heavy casualties cause.

Last month, independent Russian media speak to inmates wey dey held for facilities for different locations for Russia, and di inmates tell dem say Oga Prigozhin don personally visit dia facility to recruit inmates to join di fight for Ukraine.