Russia pardons 5000 ex-convicts who fought in Ukraine.

More than 5,000 former criminals have been pardoned after finishing their contracts to fight in Russia's Wagner mercenary group against Ukraine, according to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin recruited thousands of men from prisons, offering them the chance of freedom in return for serving in some of the most dangerous battles in Ukraine. Wagner, which has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, casts itself as the most battle-hardened mercenary group in the world.