Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group has been using Twitter and Facebook to recruit medics, drone operators and even psychologists to aid fighting operations, including in Ukraine, according to exclusive research seen by POLITICO. Job ads for Wagner, which has mercenaries operating in several countries, have reached nearly 120,000 views on the two social media platforms over the last ten months, according to Logically, a U.K. disinformation-focused research group. Sixty posts in dozens of languages – including French, Vietnamese and Spanish – shared information about fighting, IT, driving and medical positions apparently available with Wagner. They also included contact phone numbers, Telegram accounts and touted monthly salaries of 240,000 rubles (€2,800) with benefits including health care. While the researchers couldn’t directly attribute the messages to Wagner with total certainty, the posts carry the footprint of the militia and its supporters. “We only know that this is using the exact same language as previously verified Wagner accounts on places like Telegram or VK,” said Kyle Walter, head of research for Logically. VK is a popular Russian social media. It isn’t clear what success the recruitment campaigns have had. Yet the incitement to violence – and promotion of Russian attacks against Ukraine — almost certainly
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