Wm.Traynor wrote:Why is or was Russia using mercenaries against Ukraine, instead of its own Countrymen?
Because only armed with shovels they defeated a NATO trained and supplied standing army. Think how cost effective it is.
The reality is there is a limit to how many Russian's can be mobilized under the current law, without declaring war. The special military operation does allow for full mobilization. Extra bodies for mobilization can therefore be done by PMC and they quite specialized for street to street fighting which is probably the most intense fighting. They certainly have used criminals and I suspect quite a few died. However those that survived 6 months were given a presidential pardon and pay.
I read that Ukraine is also mobilizing prisoners as well so no difference really except probably pay and chances of survival as you will be better equipped.