STENCH OF DEATH
Horrifying Wagner Group mass graves discovered in Siberia wasteland as video shows rotten corpses steaming from ditches
STEAMING rotten corpses of slain Wagner Group thugs have led to the discovery of a mass grave in Siberia.
Horrifying footage emerged of the dense forest clearing in Irtkusk, which appeared to show soil dug up for Vladimir Putin's mercenaries.
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The far-flung Siberian town, about 3250 miles from Moscow, is a hub for Russian aviation but is now reportedly home to more than 60 grave sites.
The grim discovery was made by two local journalists who filmed the ad hoc burial site amid the Wagner Group suffering huge casualties in Ukraine.
The shocking video showed a mixture of ceremonial graves and open ditches with steam and smoke appearing to billow out as a result of the rotting human remains.
Most of the burial sites were marked with a wooden cross, covered in brances and adorned with two wreaths.
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One garland was in the theme of the Russian tricolour and the other of red-and-yellow flowers of the Wagner emblem.
It was reported 53 Wagner graves were identified at the site.
However, that only took up a small portion of the cleared land mass - suggesting plenty more dead bodies could be expected.
According to Russian news outlet Pravda, 13 tombs of "war heroes" were also found at the site.
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All the fighters buried at Alexandrovskoe cemetery are believed to have died within the period from December 2022 to March 2023.
Through local databases, the journalists also found more than 43 of deceased soldiers were convicts aged from 20 to 62.
Of them, 17 members were reportedly convicted for murder and the rest on robbery and drug charges.
The discovery has shed light on the mounting death toll suffered by Russian forces in Ukraine as the conflict enters its 17th month.
In February, US officials claimed more than 30,000 Wagner fighters had been injured or killed since the war began on February 24, 2022.
Most of the fatalities were suffered in the meat-grinder in Bakhmut.
Nevertheless, seven mass grave sites for the deceased bloodstained thugs have been uncovered across the Russian empire.
In January, a macabre cemetery was found in Bakinskaya, Krasnodar.
No less than 120 graves were visible there, filled with victims from across Russia, some named, some not.
The majority of the slain fighters are believed to be dangerous inmates who were recruited to fight in exchange for their freedom.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin also reportedly touted a cash payment to family members should their relation be killed fighting in Ukraine.
Advocacy groups claimed prisoners who enlisted were told their families would receive a payout of 5 million rubles (£43,00) if they were killed.
However, an inside source told RadioFreeEurope that most family members have not even been notified of the deaths.
The man said: "Of course, it’s easier for Wagner to bury all those taken out in one place than to deal with the complex logistics and transport for corpses around [Russia] and even to neighbouring countries.
"But this also demonstrates their real attitude toward both the dead and their families."
It comes as the remaining Wagner troops sought refuge in Belarus after their botched coup in June.
They shamelessly followed their mutinous maniac boss who was forced to flee after Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal with furious Kremlin officials.
The failed uprising was the biggest authoritative challenge Putin has faced since he rose to power in the aftermath of the collapsed Soviet Union.
At the time of the coup, Prigozhin vowed to "punish" Russia after he blamed the Kremlin for a deadly missile attack on one of his training camps.
The former pal of Putin then led an armed rebellion with the stated aim to oust Russia's military leaders as he turned on the top brass in Moscow.
Within hours of a 400-vehicle convoy rolling onto Russian soil from Ukraine, Wagner troops seized control of Russia’s regional military HQ in Rostov-on-Don.
They rode heavy military machinery, tanks and trucks.
Prigozhin bragged his men — believed to be better equipped than the Russian army — did not need to fire a single shot as they took control of the HQ.
He said: "The border guards greeted us and hugged our fighters. If anyone gets in our way, we will destroy everything. We are going all the way."
Kremlin chiefs scrambled pick-up trucks piled full of sand to blockade gateways to Moscow, home to 12million.
And then in a bizarre turnaround, Prigozhin told his private army to back down.
In an audio message to his troops, he ordered them to return to their bases to "avoid bloodshed".
Ever since his troops were moved to Belarus, the official whereabouts of the Wagner leader has been questioned.
Some experts believe he is either dead or rotting away in a Russian gulag.
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Putin has since capitalised on his cowering foe and is said to be dismantling the Wagner group.
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